President Ram Nath Kovind starts off ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ from Ishwariganj which was ODF in ’16
Underlining the need to carry forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, President Ram Nath Kovind said over 6.5 crore people in the country are suffering from mental disorders due to unhygienic conditions.
Launching nationwide 'Swachhta Hi Seva' campaign on the third anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission in Ishwariganj village in Kanpur on Friday, the President said, "It was the not the responsibility of the government alone, but evefry citizen of the country will have to come forward to make the Swachhta movement successful."
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, Kovind recalled when Gandhiji had said that the country cannot remain clean till every citizen takes up broom and bucket in hand. Calling bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan a 'Rashtra Nirmata', he said that Bachchan has been making significant contribution by doing advertisements on Swachhta Mission without charging a penny.
Giving an example of Ishwariganj village which was declared open-defecation free (ODF) in 2016, Kovind urged the people of the country to follow its step in keeping India clean.
Lauding daughters for turning down marriage proposals from those who do not toilets, he pointed that elders in village remain tense till their women and girls return home safely after defecating in open.
He also felicitated Ishwariganj village pradhan Akash Verma, village development officer Rakesh Jha, sanitary worker Vinod Singh, ODF awareness team members Ra Rani, Ram Bali, Puja Gautam and Babli Gautam.
Speaking on the occasion, Governor Ram Naik said people in the state should prefer constructing toilets in their homes over constructing 'devalaya'. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath claimed about having 10 lakh toilets constructed in the state during his government's rule.
"We have constructed 15,000 toilets per day in the last six months, and we target to construct 78 lakh toilets by December 31, 2017 to make Uttar Pradesh open-defecation free by October 2018," Adityanath said.
Acknowledgement
President Ram Nath Kovind felicitated several officers of Ishwariganj village in Kanpur for achieving open defecation free status.
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