As his pet campaign 'Swachchh Bharat Mission' (SBM) completes five years on October 2, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to express his gratitude by e-mailing 'Swachch Aabhaar' letters in 12 Indian languages to around 10 lakh citizens, including celebrities, from various sectors thanking them for their support to the cleanliness drive.
The Government has claimed that implementation of the SBM has led to sanitation coverage to 99.22 per cent from its earlier status of about 38 per cent since its launch on October 2014.
"In recognition of their outstanding contributions towards Open Defecation Free (ODF) sustainability, Aabhaar letters have been planned to be dispatched through emails," said a senior official from the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, which was formed recently after clubbing Union Water and Sanitation Ministry and Union Rural and Development Ministry. The Government had said that by October, 2, 2019, entire country will be ODF.
"At the time of launch, the Prime Minister had given a clarion call for a 'janandolan' for swachchta. Swachch Bharat has since become the world's largest behavioral change campaign. The success of the mission is greatly attributed to the people of different sectors of the society who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in the cleanliness mission," the official added.
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and cinestars like Akshay Kumar and Anushka Sharma, Nita Ambani, wife of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, were among several personalities who joined the 'Swachhta hi Seva' campaign following the Prime Minister's clarion call.
The Ministry is now scouting for an agency that can do the job which will also include translating the text of the letter in 12 Indian languages including Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati among others.
To promote sanitation, the Prime Minister had In 2017 written personalised letters to iconic celebrities, prominent industrialists, sportspersons, film stars, inter-faith leaders and other noted personalities to enlist their support for the 'Swachhata Hi Seva' movement, saying it is the most noble service.
He wrote, "Let us ensure that the coming days are about living the Mantra of 'Swachhata Hi Seva'."
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to make India a cleaner place by emphasising on sanitation and health as also changing age-old attitudes towards hygiene. "I personally invite you to lend your support to the 'Swachhata Hi Seva' movement and dedicate some time for the cause of a Swachh Bharat," PM Modi wrote.