NEW DELHI: Under the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign, nearly 6.4 lakh events are scheduled to be held by social organisations and resident and trade associations across the country on Sunday. This mega cleanliness drive calls upon citizens to join in the cleaning of public places, including markets, railway tracks, water bodies, tourist locations and places of worship.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel will also join hands with civilians to clean up garbage, railway tracks, heritage buildings, step-wells and forts.
“The Prime Minister’s call for ‘Ek Tareekh Ek Ghanta Ek Saath’ (An hour together on Day One) implies hardcore cleanliness activities – shramdaan (volunteering) for swachhata (cleanliness). This is not about pledges, plog runs, rangoli competitions, wall paintings or street plays. Shramdaan is only for cleanliness drives across the nation,” the minister said.
According to Puri, a large number of resident welfare associations have volunteered to clean nearly one lakh residential areas. Village communities have offered to clean around 35,000 anganwadi centres. Lead groups like Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeeth and other local communities have adopted large stretches of national highways for cleaning. Major groups led by Afroz Shah and Sudrashan Patnaik will take up cleanliness drives across several coastal regions, while Sulabh International has adopted the task of cleaning community and public toilets.
Major drive
Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel will join hands with civilians to clean up garbage, railway tracks, heritage buildings and step-wells on Sunday. Several resident welfare associations have offered to clean nearly one lakh residential areas.