8.75 Crore People Participated In Cleanliness Drive On October 1: Centre

 A nationwide cleanliness drive conducted on October 1 in response to an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw the participation of 8.75 crore people at over nine lakh sites across the country, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.

On the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, PM Modi pitched for blending fitness and well-being with cleanliness as he led a nationwide cleanliness drive which saw the participation of people in large numbers.

"The mega cleanliness drive across the nation got an impetus with sanitation being the great unifier for the nation, transcending panchayats, municipalities, districts and state boundaries," the HUA ministry in a statement.

According to it, many governors, chief ministers, local political leaders, thousands of civil society organisations and the public took part in the cleanliness drive.

In a recent episode of the monthly 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast, PM Modi appealed to all citizens for "one hour of shramdaan (voluntary labour) for swachhata" on October 1 and said it would be a "Swachhanjali" to Mahatma Gandhi on the eve of his birth anniversary.

The ministry said that this collective action of people certainly resulted in visible cleanliness in all sites. In the nine years of the Swachh Bharat Mission, people have come together on numerous occasions, highlighting the strength of collective efforts, it said.

"An effort of this kind with such a large number of people coming together for an hour for a single cause to offer voluntary effort for a cleaner nation, is certainly one of its kind," it said.

As the journey continues under Swachh Bharat Mission-2.0, this kind of collective action will certainly boost the strength of action for 'Garbage-Free Cities' by 2026 by adoption of scientific waste management and remediation of legacy dumpsites, it added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)