Swachh Bharat: India’s Sanitation Coverage Increases From 40 Per Cent To Over 90 Per Cent In Four Years, Says PM Modi

Urging people to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of clean India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Swachhata Hi Seva campaign on Saturday (15 September) reports The Hindu.

“Had anybody imagined that more than 450 districts would be open defecation-free (ODF) in four years or that 20 States and Union Territories would be open defecation-free in four years,” said the prime minister. He further said that the total sanitation coverage in India has increased from 40 per cent to over 90 per cent in four years he added.

“Cleanliness is service” campaign is to continue till the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on 2 October.

Launching the campaign, the PM spoke over video conferencing to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, eminent personalities of the likes of Amitabh Bachan, Ratan Tata and shared details of the campaign.

UP Chief Minister declared that Uttar Pradesh would be ODF by 2 October this year and that his government is working hard to make sure that every family has a toilet by October 2019.

People working for the cleanliness campaign would be remembered like freedom fighters in the times to come and would be known as right heirs to Gandhi said the Prime Minister. He said that the government is working from “waste to wealth” and urged every citizen to contribute.