Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi on last Thursday visited Valmiki Basti where he wielded the broom as a token gesture to mark 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan'. On his arrival here at Valmiki Sadan, a housing colony, he was received by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi and greeted by children with a 'tilak' who were present at the venue. Later, he was seen having a conversation with the janitors who also participated in the cleanliness drive along with him.
The chosen venue is the one which boasts the legacy of having once been the place where Mahatma Gandhi lived in a hutment. Earlier in the morning Modi also paid a surprise visit at Mandir Marg police station while he was on his way to Valmiki Basti.
The nationwide Swachh Bharat campaign focuses on sanitation, hygiene and waste management.
The launch was preceded by cleanliness campaign week beginning September 25 which saw central government offices being spruced up by discarding or overhauling old furniture and sending old files to record rooms.
Salman, Tendulkar to spread Clean India message
The Prime Minister nominated actors Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and industrialist Anil Ambani among nine people to spread the message of Clean India.
Modi has said the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan he launched earlier in the day should clean up the country by 2019, the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
At a gathering, Modi asked them to nominate more people for the task. “I have invited nine people and asked them to come to public places and work towards a clean India," Modi said. The others in the group of nine are Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, actor-producer Kamal Haasan and the team of television serial Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. "These nine people can nominate nine more people, and they can clean and upload videos," said the prime minister.
India Inc joins Clean India campaign
India Inc and public sector undertakings (PSUs) joined the Clean India campaign by pledging support and financial aid under corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) launched 'Mission -Sanitation of Schools (SoS)' drive under which it will work with companies to construct toilets across the country.
"We have set up a mechanism to create awareness and encourage industry participation through our network of 64 offices in India, spread across 26 states and two union territories," said Sumit Mazumder, president designate, CII, and chairman, TIL Ltd.
"CII will mobilise construction of 10,000 toilets in the first phase, which is, by the end of fiscal year 2015-16. Based on the feedback and assessments on ground, in the next six months CII will announce targets for the second phase," it said.
Currently, it is estimated that per unit cost of construction of a toilet block for girls and separate block for boys will range from Rs.2 to Rs.5 lakh, depending on availability of water and other facilities.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) started cleaning activities at its own headquarters here.
"We are happy and encouraged by the prime minister's call for a 'Clean India' by 2019. FICCI shares his vision for 'Swachch Bharat' and agrees that the entire nation needs to come forward and commit itself to this noble initiative," said A. Didar Singh, secretary general, FICCI.
The state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) too launched its special cleaning drive at its facilities in various cities.
The PSU has identified 765 schools for construction of toilets in 37 districts in the country.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal announced that PSUs under his ministry will build one lakh toilets in schools within a year.
Goyal pointed out that there were enormous economic benefits of making the country clean like increase in tourism, employment opportunities and income.
