Highlights: Banega Swachh India #Mere10Guz 12-Hour Cleanathon With Amitabh Bachchan Gets Underway

The 12-hour long Dettol-NDTV Banega Swachh India cleanathon ended with the national anthem being performed by a group of differently abled kids, as brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan took centre stage to end the event with a salute.

Wrapping up the 12-hour Banega Swachh India cleanathon, brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan says that despite differences, there was unity in what people said about cleanliness. We must introspect why the voices are not reaching the millions of people out there. We should work every day towards cleanliness and how much of the efforts are getting implemented, should also be looked into. We need millions of people who should think together. We must get together and think alike and inevitably become a better and cleaner nation. Mr Bachchan also thanked the volunteers participating in the cleanliness activities across the country during the cleanathon.

Manual scavenging should be made the number one focus for the next one year, says Nitish Kapoor of RB, in the final few minutes of the cleanathon. Alia Bhatt says that we should create more awareness and adopt #Mere10Guz with further seriousness. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra says that we must be responsible for ourselves and pay our debt to the society.

Manual Scavenging should be made the number one focus for the next one year, says Nitish Kapoor of RB. Alia Bhatt says that we should create more awareness and adopt #Mere10Guz with further seriousness. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra says that we must be responsible for ourselves and pay our debt to the society.

Zarina Srewvala, Managing Trustee, Swades Foundation says that they have built more than 17,000 toilets across several gram panchayats. Their WASH programmes across 300 schools have seen students generate awareness on toilets among parents and elders as well.

Alia Bhatt says that awareness is the only to realise that something more needs to be done for change to take place. There are innumerable reasons why there is need to contribute to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Even taking on an area on a monthly or quarterly basis can make a difference. Amitabh Bachchan says that youngsters who look up to people like Alia Bhatt can do a lot to ensure that change in cleanliness scenarios actually take place. 

Alia Bhatt joins the panel at the Banega Swachh India cleanathon.

Jaggi Vasudev: All the policies concerning our rivers was about how to share the waters. Now we are talking about how to revitalise our rivers. Ganga accounts for 33% of India's agriculture but in the last few years 94% of forest cover near the Ganga basin has been removed. Forest based agriculture more viable option for farmers residing near the Ganga basin and they need not give up their land. It is an economic module with an ecological impact.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra says that when he visited Sabarmati, he thought of Gandhi and how Gandhi was the architect of freedom in India. But apart from that, Gandhi was also highly interested in sanitation and the work he did on toilets was incredible. Along with the NGO Yuva, which has 1,50,000 volunteers, Mr Mehra has adopted 601 schools and slums with nearly 10,000 toilets built in total and maintenance infrastructure for two years. In the sites Mr Mehra's NGO has worked, there has been an 86 per cent rise in girls coming back to schools where toilets have been installed.

Also Read: Rang De Basanti Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Builds 800 Toilets Across India

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra says that when he visited Sabarmati, he thought of Gandhi and how Gandhi was the architect of freedom in India. But apart from that, Gandhi was also highly interested in sanitation and the work he did on toilets was incredible. Along with the NGO Yuva, which has 1,50,000 volunteers, Mr Mehra has adopted 601 schools and slums with nearly 10,000 toilets in total and maintenance infradtructure for two years. In the sites Mr Mehra's NGO has worked, there has been an 86 per cent rise in girls coming back to schools where toilets have been installed.

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Afroz Shah, the architect behind the Versova beach cleanup join the Banega Swachh India cleanathon panel. Mr Mehra says that he has already built 601 toilets. Afroz Shah says that criticisms should be directed at self. Amitabh Bachchan, says how Afroz Shah requested for an excavator from him and was presented with an excavatator, a tractor and a trailor to aid him in his garbage collection process.  

Singer Anwesha Dutta Gupta lights up the cleanathon stage on the occassion of Gandhi Jayanti with her rendition of Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan, Vaishnava Jan To.

Jaya Bachchan, Member of Parliament says that people have become insensitive towards the issue of manual scavenging and despite talking of technological achievements, we have been unable to provide safety equipment to people employed in cleaning sewers.

Mr Wilson says that modernisation of sewage system a must to eradicate manual scavenging. The 2013 Act on Manual Scavenging clearly states that anyone employing manual scavengers should be imprisoned for a year. Construction of toilets not enough as dry toilets still exist. Sewage treatment plants are a must to treat sewage via mechanisation and so that manual scavengers are not employed. 1.6 lakh women still clean human excreta and 117 people have already died in 2017 and unless these problems are solved, there is no point in celebrating the success of Swachh Bharat.

Magsaysay Award winner Bezwada Wilson and founder of Safai Karmachari Andolan, says that the government policy is the reason behind the deaths of manual scavengers. 1,470 deaths happened in India since the Supreme Court judgment on manual scavenging. He says that police stations, court and political will have repeatedly not shown any interest in eradicating manual scavenging.

Jaya Bachchan, Member of Parliament, joins the panel at the Banega Swachh India cleanathon.

Jaya Bachchan talks about the issue of manual scavenging and says that despite raising the question on manual scavenging on several high platforms without any avail. Sensitive and conscious people have raised the question on manual scavenging. Talking about contractors who employ manual scavengers, Mrs Bachchan says that justice must be swift and fast in courts.

Jaya Bachchan joins the panel at the Banega Swachh India cleanathon.

Professor Rajagopalan Vasudevan says that he needs 100 lakh tonnes of plastic to construct pavements across highways across India.

India's plastic man Professor Rajagopalan Vasudevan joins the cleanathon. Prof. Vasudevan firmly believes that one person's waste is another person's treasure. The Madurai resident has built roads using plastics instead of dumping them into garbage. His technology has been used across 15 districts all over India.

Also Read: 'One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure': Meet India's 'Plastic Man'