Live Updates: Amitabh Bachchan Launches Season 5 Of NDTV-Dettol Banega Swachh India

Concluding the launch of NDTV-Dettol Banega Swachh India Season 5, campaign ambassador Amitabh Bachchan said that we should all contribute individually towards a Swachh Bharat. When it comes to keeping our surroundings clean, we often shun responsibility by putting the onus on someone else. Changing this attitude, people must become more responsible and take it upon themselves to ensure cleanliness, said Mr Bachhan.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis congratulated the NDTV Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign. Mr Fadnavis said that For the first time in the history of independent India, a people's movement  for sanitation has been realised. In the past three years, over 60 lakh families in Maharashtra have been provided with toilets to make both urban and rural Maharashtra open defecation free. The state begun regulation of plastic in the state, banning plastic which is not biodegradable, and treat waste in 100 cities.

Bhagyashree Dengle says everyone has to come together to sustain the social change, as no one stakeholder can ensure change, be it the government or an individual.

"If we look at WHO statistics, inadequate sanitation leads to lot of diseases. Our goal is to provide sanitation, safe water and hygiene. We have seen inadequate sanitation leads to polio, and India has spent a lot of time and effort to eradicate polio. It is extremely important that we focus on adequate sanitation, so that polio does not make a comeback," says Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO, South-East Asia Region.

Afroz Shah says community involvement is a key to success in programmes of cleanliness. Someone has to go to people and talk to them about the importance of cleanliness, so that they can adopt cleanliness measures.

"Each one of us should go back today and think about what needs to be done. We all must take responsibility individually to ensure better sanitation and hygiene for India," says campaign ambassador Amitabh Bachchan.

Students of SDMC school sing a song written and composed by them. The song details how they wash their hands step-by-step to get rid of germs and ensure health and hygiene.

Apoorv Vikram Shah from Sherwood School, Nainital, makes a surprise appearance during the Season 5 launch of NDTV-Dettol Banega Swachh India. Reciting his new poem which talks about how many households in India are still without proper sanitation facilities and asks people to pledge a toilet in every household in India, the youngster once again earned praise from Mr Bachchan.

Season three of the NDTV-Dettol Banega Swachh India focused on utilising the hours committed towards cleanup drives. A Swachh agenda was also taken to improve waste management and drainage system at the iconic Taj Mahal.

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Water Resources and Road Transport, says that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is very necessary. The Union Minister says that at his Delhi home, a composting machine is installed. Mr Gadkari said that solid waste management can be an industry worth 5 lakh crore and that the Centre is experimenting with using plastic waste in building roads, as that is a cost-effective method of utilising waste. Mr Gadkari also promised that by March 2019, 70 to 80 per cent of river Ganga will be cleaned.

In year two of the NDTV-Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign, pledges to join cleanup drives in India worth 1 crore hours were raised, and a 45-lession hygiene curriculum was distributed in 10,000 schools in India.

"I struggled to maintain 500 trees near Versova beach. We are not conditioned to love the environment, so a lot of people disturb the trees and hamper their growth. Around 50 of them died, because how people treated the trees. Trees are very important to maintain cleanliness of the environment," says Afroz Shah, Environmentalist spearheading the Versova beach cleanup.

"We need to engage all stakeholders, especially children, to come forward and plant trees. Children become change agents post learning positive behaviour in schools and then they motivate parents at home to follow that practice," says Bhagyashri Dengle, Executive Director, Plan India.

''I pledge to plant 100 trees and look after them," says campaign ambassador Amitabh Bachchan.

Afroz Shah, the man behind Versova beach cleanup, Shweta Shalini, Advisor to Chief Minister Maharashtra, Bhagyashri Dengle, Executive Director, Plan India and Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, External Affairs and Partnerships, RB come together for a panel discussion on cleanliness and air pollution.

The NDTV-Dettol Banega Swachh India has successfully spread awareness on the importance of sanitation and hygiene for the past four years. Rs 281 crore has been raised till now to strengthen the movement towards a cleaner and healthier India.

Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, says that the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has entered its fifth year. Mr Iyer thanks Mr Bachchan who has been at the forefront of the campaign nationally. The national sanitation coverage has increased from 39 per cent to 83 per cent. More than 350 villages have become ODF and in the Prime Minister's words, the movement has become a Jan Andolan. More than four and a half lakh Swachhagrahis are working towards cleanliness. The progress has been good, but there is more work to be done.

Here is a 360-degree view of how Cooper Hospital in Mumbai has engaged in waste composting.

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An exercise in handwashing, to showcase how to wash hands properly and reduce the risk of contracting sanitation related diseases.