Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said his government would continue to implement the Swachh Bharat Mission and exhorted each one of the 130 crore people of India to take a vow that would benefit the nation.
Modi was addressing around 20,000 sarpanchs from Gujarat and rest of the country at the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. The prime minister also felicitated a few sarpanchs who have played a pivotal role in the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Modi said he was happy that the rural India has declared itself open defecation-free.
Winners of the 'Letter to Bapu' competition were also felicitated at the function. The competition was organised for school children. Mission heads of various countries were also present at the programme.
Earlier, Modi visited Sabarmati Ashram and paid respects to the Mahatma. In the morning, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani took part at an all-religion prayer at Bapu's birth place Kirti Mandir in Porbandar.
Announcing that the Swachh Bharat Mission would continue and what has been achieved so far is just the first step, Modi exhorted every single person of India to take a vow that would benefit the nation.
He said that he was happy to see that several people had stopped using single-use plastic. “We need to achieve the target of doing away with single-use plastic by 2022,” he said, adding that the move would also benefit animals including aquatic animals.
The prime minister released a commemorative stamp and a Rs 150 coin in tribute to the Mahatma.
Giving details of the Swachh Bharat Mission that began five years ago, Modi said 11 crore toilets were built in the last 60 months. He, however, asserted that there was a need to cover those who still do not have toilets.
Modi said the success of the mission was not of the government, the prime minister or the chief ministers but that of the 130 crore people of the country.
Modi observed that he felt as if the history was repeating itself. “The way people joined Bapu's satyagrah movement, people joined the mission to keep India clean,” he said.
According to him, there was a need to develop a new India on the lines of the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. Quoting a UNICEF survey, he said how the Swachh Bharat Mission had benefited people, giving them employment.
Asking the masses to make the right use of the toilets, Modi said that water recharging should also be given priority.
The prime minister also visited Gujarat government's Vibrant Gujarat Navratri Festival, which is going on at the GMDC Ground.