Over 6.4 lakh sites adopted as part of nationwide cleanliness drive on October 1: Hardeep Singh Puri

Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday that more than 6.4 lakh sites have been adopted across the country as part of a nationwide cleanliness drive on October 1 responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for "one hour of shramdaan for swachhata” (an hour's effort for cleanliness). 

Under the drive, several vulnerable points where garbage accumulates, including railway tracks and railway stations, airports and surrounding areas, water bodies, ghats, slums, market spaces, places of worship and tourist spots among others, would be cleaned.

A large number of resident welfare associations have come forward to volunteer for shramdaan in nearly one lakh residential areas while village communities have come forward to adopt around 35,000 Anganwadi centres across the nation, the minister said.

NGOs, market associations, self-help groups, faith groups, trade bodies, the private sector and others have come forward to do shramdaan in 22,000 market areas, 10,000 water bodies, nearly 7,000 bus stands/toll plazas, nearly 1,000 gaushalas, nearly 300 zoos and wildlife areas, and various locations that will have mega cleanliness drives in rural and urban India, he also said.

In the recent episode of his podcast Mann Ki Baat, the PM appealed for "one hour of shramdaan for swachhata" at 10 am on October 1 by all citizens collectively, and said it would be a "swachhanjali" to Mahatma Gandhi on the eve of his birth anniversary.

Adding further, Puri said that in a first-of-its-kind initiative, the army, navy, and air force would come together with civilians to clean up various garbage-vulnerable places.

"Union Cabinet ministers, MPs, several CMs along with mayors, sarpanches and political leadership will join the citizen-led mega cleanliness drive, too," the ministry said in a statement.