(FE)
Today on the 148th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, India pays tribute to the Father of the Nation and organises cleanliness drives to promote ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, a flagship mission of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to make people aware about the advantages of cleanliness. The abhiyan completes its three years today. “Cleanliness is Godliness” had been the mantra of Mahatma Gandhi’s life.
Mahatma Gandhi, in his lifetime, demonstrated, propagated and insisted for individual and community cleanliness. Following his footsteps, the Government of India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ on October 2, 2014 with a vision of achieving ‘Clean India’ by 2019.
Prime Minister Modi then appointed several ambassadors from various walks of public life and assigned them the job of inspiring and motivating their fellow countrymen to keep India clean. The drive to make India Open Defecation Free (ODF) is one of the key parameters in the Swachhta drive, for which the Union Government, along with various state governments, has been constructing toilets and urinals in the remotest areas of the country.
Today, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will launch ‘Swachchata-ni 60-Minute’, meaning ’60 Minutes of Cleanliness’ mass campaign, as part of ‘Swachch Bharat Mission’, alongside the Social Equanimity Week. Rupani will also lay the foundation stone or inaugurate various capital works for Porbandar totalling Rs. 46.78 crore.
