New Delhi: The Union Minister for Communications Shri Manoj Sinha said that Swachh Bharat Mission got a new impetus in the country after the Prime Minister launched the Mission on 2nd October, 2014, and in the last two years the steps taken in this direction whether regarding construction of toilets or Solid and Liquid Waste Management, India has created a sort of World Record. Paying Tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shashtri on their Birth Anniversaries, Shri Sinha expressed happiness that on the occasion of second anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission, one lakh villages have become Open Defecation Free. He said, cleanliness was part of Indian culture and legacy, but somewhere we lost the path and reminded the audience that Mahatma Gandhi talked about the cleanliness at length in the Calcutta Congress Session in way back in 1901 and after more than 110 years, the swachh movement got a new impetus because of the dynamism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shri Sinha was speaking at a function here, where two commemorative stamps on Swachh Bharat Mission and a miniature sheet were released in the Presence of Union Minister for Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu.
Shri Sinha said, “A clean India would be the best tribute, India could pay to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150 birth anniversary on 2nd October 2019, as was dreamt of by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said, with citizens now becoming active participants in cleanliness activities across the nation, the Swachh Bharat Mission is fast taking shape of a mass movement.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Naidu informed that all the 170 towns of Gujrat and 110 cities of Andhra Pradesh have become ODF today. He said that Clean Mission is a very big mission and the entire country has to work to achieve the goal as it is neither a political programme nor a Government Scheme, but a National Mission. He appealed to the Youth of the country to come forward and take the responsibility of making India clean by 2019. He informed that the Government is considering to change the name of Shouchalaya as Swachhalaya.
Shri Naidu said even as the Prime Minister is galvanising all sections of society and people of all age groups through his “Mann Ki Baat” radio addresses, he also wants that the Centre, States, Municipalities, Village Panchayats should work in the spirit of Team India by taking all sections of society in the true spirit of cooperative federalism. He commended the postal department for taking up the cleanliness drive in the Mission mode and said that the Postman reaches the Last Man in the Country and in that sense they can fulfil the dream of Antodaya-Justice to the last man, the vision of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayaya.
Secretary, Department of Posts Shri B.V.Sudhakar said that Swachh Bharat Mission is a Silent Revolution that is happening in India, but this is also a Peaceful, Powerful and Pure Revolution. He said, a Clean India will be a Healthy India and a Healthy India will be a Productive India which will promote high growth. He said, a healthy competition has begun in all walks of life to out beat others in cleanliness index.
As a part of Swachh Bharat Mission, Department of Posts organised a nation-wide competition inviting entries for designing the commemorative postage stamps of denominations of Rs 25 and Rs 5 and a miniature sheet. The designs on the stamp & miniature sheet are based on three best entries submitted by Ms. Binita Biswajeeta, Ms. Sanjula S. and Ms. Arushi Aggarwal in the above competition. On this occasion, the awards for best post offices in Haryana and Delhi Postal Circles were also given.
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