Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday pitched for blending fitness and well-being with cleanliness as he led a nationwide cleanliness drive in which thousands of people participated in an hour-long “shramdaan” across the country.
Besides Modi, several other BJP leaders, including Union Ministers, took up cleanliness programmes in different parts of the country.
Home Minister Amit Shah participated in Ahmedabad while BJP chief JP Nadda did so in Delhi. According to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, more than 9.20 lakh sites across the country were adopted for the mega drive, named as “Swachhanjali” to Mahatma Gandhi on the eve of his birth anniversary.
People from all walks of life, from politicians to students, wielded brooms and took part in the ‘Swachhata hi Seva’ campaign, in response to the Prime Minister’s appeal the cleanliness drive. Wielding a broom, Union Home Minister Amit Shah participated in a cleanliness drive in Ahmedabad. BJP chief JP Nadda also took part in the drive in Delhi’s Jhandewalan area.
Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath participated in cleanliness drive ‘Swachhata Pakhwada’ in Sitapur. Taking part in the “shramdaan (voluntary labour)”, Union Power Minister RK Singh told reporters, “We (Centre) have taken a resolve to make the country clean. It is a big challenge but we will do it.”
Union Ministers and BJP leaders across the country grabbed brooms and took part in the ‘Swachhata hi Seva’ campaign.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel participated in a cleanliness drive in Ahmedabad. BJP MP Dinesh Sharma, who also took part in a clean drive, said “swachhata (cleanliness)” has become the face of the country.
Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, urging people to join the drive, said in a post on X, “Come, let’s create a new history! At 10 am today, let’s volunteer for an hour, paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi through cleanliness.” “Scan or visit local cleanliness programmes to join. Dream of a #GarbageFreeIndia Together, we’ll make it happen,” he said.
Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari took volunteered for a cleanliness activity in New Delhi. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi said it held cleanliness drives at 500 locations across the national capital.
Cricketers such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also appealed to the people to come together for “Ek Tareekh, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath” and join the largest citizen-led movement to strengthen the resolve towards cleanliness.
Among the States, Uttar Pradesh adopted more than a lakh sites for cleanliness drives while Maharashtra will conduct the programme in over 62,000 locations, including the beaches, religious places, schools, colleges and water bodies. In Telangana, temples of historical significance were cleaned during the drive.