Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday administered a cleanliness pledge under the Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan to Government officials in a State-level function.
Badal, on the occasion of the 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, avowed people to maintain cleanliness in and around their houses, public places and workplaces. People pledged to devote at least 100 hours per year and two hours every week to keep respective areas clean.
Chief Minister, addressing the gathering at Shekpura, said that people should take up the cudgels of keeping the country clean. “Government has provided enough infrastructure and funds to keep the State clean. It is the people who will have to step forward, take the onus and ensure that we keep our cities as clean as the foreign shores we visit,” he said.
While the SAD-BJP Government in State was committed to keep the cities and villages clean, it was also responsibility of its citizens to not litter, he said.Badal urged the people to be disciplined. Instead of piling up agricultural waste on vacant land and creating a dumping ground, he asked the farmers to stack waste in a corner of their fields.
Citizens were asked to clean their houses and throw household waste to garbage collector or dump it at common garbage collection sites.Chief Minister asked the people, especially those in villages, to demonstrate exemplary determination and commitment by taking special initiative for removing the agriculture waste (biomass) and cattle-dung stacked on the panchayat land.
“This initiative will ensure a clean, green, pollution-free and a healthy environment thereby, improving the quality of life of the people residing there,” he said.
He said that the sense of cleanliness should be instilled in a child right from the time he or she learns to walk.Asking the Government officers and employees to be a role model for others, he said that the spirit of cleanliness should be imbibed from deep within.
Punjab DGP administers cleanliness oath
As a part of Swachchh Bharat Mission, a special cleanliness drive was started at Punjab Police headquarters on Thursday on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
On this occasion, hundreds of police officers and employees posted at headquarters were administered a ‘cleanliness oath’ in presence of Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini. The process of administering oath was completed by DGP SK Sharma.
Earlier, in a comprehensive cleanliness campaign, the whole premises of police headquarters and offices were cleaned thoroughly and instructions were issued to make it regular feature.
Become part of national cleanliness movement: CS
Administering oath of cleanliness to all officers or officials working in Punjab Civil Secretariat, Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal exhorted them to make cleanliness movement initiated by Mahatma Gandhi as national movement.
All Financial Commissioners, Principal Secretaries, Administrative Secretaries, besides other officers and officials collectively vowed to carry forward the task initiated by Mahatma Gandhi and make it a peoples’ movement in an oath ceremony organised in Chandigarh’s Rajindra Park.
They took oath that every officer or official would remain vigilant about necessity of keeping cleanliness in surrounding areas and devote minimum 100 hours per year. They also swore that they would neither litter nor let anyone litter in public and private places and every citizen would realise his duty of maintaining cleanliness in his residence, locality, village and city to realise the dream of making country clean and litter free.
They accepted the fact that the reason of cleanliness in developed countries was because their citizens don’t litter and don’t let others litter.
In an impressive e ceremony every officer or official vowed that they would carry this message of cleanliness to every village, every city of the country and motivate 100 other persons to become part of cleanliness mission.