Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Narendra Singh Tomar launched a national audio-visual campaign for the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin).
The advertisements for the campaign feature the official brand ambassadors actor Amitabh Bachchan and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister said that the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has fully galvanised its IEC (Information Education Communication) and BCC (Behaviour Change Communication) mechanisms to make the advertisements increasingly people centric. He stressed that this was very essential because IEC/BCC are core interventions for behaviour change and citizen engagement.
Responding to a query, the Minister said that the commitment of Bachchan and Tendulkar to sanitation and Swachh Bharat is unquestionable and complete. “Despite their busy schedules they have taken time out to not only actively conceive and shoot the advertisements but also made appearances at various Swachh Bharat events to encourage and motivate grassroot workers and sanitation champions”, he said. He also expressed his gratitude to development partners, UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BBC Media Action and Dettol Banega Swachh Bharat campaign for their support to the ministry in putting together the advertisements launched. The Minister gave a run-through of the activities planned for the Swachh Bharat Week celebrations to commemorate its second anniversary. It began from 25th September on Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jayanti and will conclude on Gandhi Jayanti.
Five short films that showcase real-life stories of individuals from different walks of life were also launched at the event. They are stories of people who have made the Swachh Bharat Mission their own by adopting innovative ideas to encourage the use of toilets in their communities and adopt sustainable waste treatment practices. These stories are models of a wider citizen’s movement across the country to encourage the adoption of safe sanitation practices and realise the goal of an Open Defecation Free India by 2019.
Speaking about the upcoming event INDOSAN (India Sanitation Conference), the secretary, of the ministry Parameswaran Iyer said that INDOSAN would be an annual joint event in association with the ministry of Urban Development. To be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the event will be an occasion to make assessment of the progress made so far in two years of Swachh Bharat and to look at the road ahead.
The event will also be a critical platform for getting key stakeholders to re-dedicate themselves to achieving the mission by October 2nd, 2019. Major sanitation innovations in SBM - both rural and urban - will also be showcased on the occasion.