India will mark the 9th anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission on October 2, 2023. In these nine years, the campaign has succeeded in generating consciousness about cleanliness among Indians, especially children. PM Narendra Modi has attributed children as the vigilant soldiers in the cleanliness campaign. Now, the availability of blue and green dustbins is evident in public places. A stringent culture of cleanliness is taken care of by Swachh workers.
The Indian education system and media have given impetus and momentum to the campaign. Schools and colleges have taken this initiative with priority and trained children in their curriculum with different activities to make them conscious of their conduct for cleanliness. India’s media has unanimously taken up this campaign with utmost sincerity and opened the discourse on cleanliness among Indians. This could be one of the topics where all media outlets participated with the same verve and sincerity on the matter of cleanliness. Indian celebrities and businessmen also took responsibility to raise awareness among Indians about the severity and significance of cleanliness in modern India.
To make India open defecation-free, the government provided allowances to poor people for building cemented houses and toilets under the PM Awas Yojana. It led to a revolutionary change in India’s rural practices, where particularly females and old people suffered abysmally from the lack of toilets in their homes. The campaign has contributed to improving public health and hygiene. On October 2, 2019, PM Narendra Modi declared India open defecation-free.
Many times, the PM has reinforced the crowd in public rallies to collect their garbage with them and leave the ground clean.
The impact of the Swachhta Abhiyan can also be measured by its impact on tourism and the economy. Projects like the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project, Namami Gange project, Central Vista project, etc., have given a boost to tourism and the local economy. A well-maintained and clean sanctum sanctorum always appeals to tourists.
As a nation, we have taken this initiative with sincerity, but we have to take this to the culmination. It is a continuous process and requires persistent effort. We have to instill this practice in every Indian. The habit of waste segregation and the redundant use of plastic require special training and education. National Father Mahatma Gandhi is the icon of the Swachh Mission. It is the duty of every Indian citizen to uphold the values of Gandhi and build a country as desired by our freedom fighters.