October 02, 2018: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today gave a mantra of 4Ps for a Cleaner world. In his address at the end of four-day Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention in New Delhi, Mr Modi said, political leadership, public funding, people’s participation and partnerships is the need of the hour for a Cleaner world.
He said the government is focusing on sanitation as well as nutrition. Mr Modi asserted that the Swacch Bharat Mission has brought a behavioural change in the people. The Prime Minister said, rural sanitation was 38 per cent in 2014, and now it has gone up to 94 per cent. He also said, five lakh villages have become Open Defecation Free.
In his address, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated Mr Modi for giving priority to sanitation. He said Clean India will be a befitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. Mr Guterres said, to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, there is an urgent need to tackle the issue of sanitation as is being done in India. He said India is an example of how political will and commitment can help achieve safe sanitation.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, Swacch Bharat Mission is not a government programme, but a people’s movement. The convention, which began on Saturday, was organised by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to mark the beginning of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi. The convention also coincides with the fourth anniversary of the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission.
Fifty-three Ministers of Sanitation from around the world and more than 160 international representatives from 68 countries participated in the convention. The conference brought together Sanitation Ministers and other leaders in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) from around the world. Swachh Bharat Awards were also distributed on the occasion. (AIR News)
