New Delhi: Coinciding with the 154th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has identified over 6.4 lakh sites from urban and rural India for Swachhata Abhiyan. “It’s an hour-long Shramdaan for Swachhata (cleanliness drive) on October 1, where people from all walks of life will join the cleaning activities at public places like markets, railway tracks, water bodies, tourist locations, places of worship, etc. for visible cleanliness,” said Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri in New Delhi on Friday.
The mega sprucing-up drive aims to clean garbage dumping points, railway tracks and stations, airports and surrounding areas, roadsides and stretches of national and state highways, water bodies, ghats, slums, underneath the bridges, market places, lanes, places of worship, tourist spots, bus stands, toll plazas, zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, gaushalas, hills, beaches, ports, residential areas, anganwadis, school and college premises among others.
Puri further said that the Army, Navy, and Air Force will join hands with civilians to clean up various garbage dumping grounds, railway tracks, heritage buildings, step-wells, and forts.
“The long stretches of the National Highway are being adopted for cleanliness by lead groups like Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth and other local communities. Many coastal regions have been taken up for Swachhata (cleanliness) by eminent groups led by Afroz Shah and Sudarsan Pattnaik. Sulabh International has come forward to adopt community and public toilets for cleaning on October 1,” said Puri while interacting with reporters.
The Union minister said that a large number of Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) have come forward to volunteer for Shramdaan (contribute) in nearly one lakh residential areas while village communities have come forward to adopt around 35,000 anganwadi kendras across the country.