Mahatma Gandhi stayed in this colony in 1946. It was from here that he gave a clarion call for a ‘Swach Bharat’. Sixty-eight years later, prime minister Narendra Modi will be in Valmiki Colony on the birth anniversary of the Mahatma on October 2, to renew that pledge.
Valmiki Colony is close to Birla Mandir where Gandhi was assassinated in 1947. A Valmiki temple stands in the middle of the colony. “Bapu stayed in the Valmiki mandir complex for 214 days. Several issues linked to India's freedom struggle were thrashed out in the mandir premises,” Virender Kumar Rajput, NDMC-appointed pradhan of Valmiki Colony, said.
Valmiki Colony bristled with armed security men the whole of last week. Officers of the National Security Guard and the Delhi Police, along with NDMC officials, were on a recce of the colony and the temple complex. “This has been the routine since September 25,” said an NSG commando.
Jitender Valmiki, 26, said: “The colony does not need a clean up. For us, the 5,000 residents of the colony, sweeping and cleaning is a hereditary calling, handed down from father to son over six generations. Cleaning, like charity, begins at home. I was born in this colony. When I turned 18, I was listed in the muster rolls of NDMC. I remained a daily wager for 500 days. Then I was made a ‘regular’. After five years, I was made ‘permanent’. After 10 years I will be eligible for a house. Half my working life will be over by then.”
The PM will come on October 2, in the morning. He will sweep a section of the colony and launch the Swach Bharat Mission. “We haven’t been told how long he will stay but we believe he will give a speech,” said Ankit Lahori, general secretary of Valmiki Sadan
“Gandhi had a dream. He told us ‘safai’ is God’s work; we should aim for a Swach Bharat. Valmikis believed in his dream, accepted to work for Swach Bharat. Others did not, not even the government. We are happy that PM Modi will launch the Swach Bharat Mission from here. All we want is that our exploitation should end,” Virender said.
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