Daily Current Affairs 17th September 2018

‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ movement

‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ movement has been launched across the country on September 15, 2018.

Over the next two weeks leading to October 2 – Gandhi Jayanti – the Swachhata Hi Seva movement aims to ensure a high standard of cleanliness across the country, which was Mahatma Gandhi’s dream for the nation.

Importance of the campaign:

• The campaign for a Swachh Bharat or clean India, which began four years ago, was made into a nation-wide movement today.

• October 2, 2018 will mark the beginning of the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth, and the government plans to realise his dream of a clean India.

About the campaign:

• The campaign is being coordinated by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the convening Ministry for the Swachh Bharat Mission.
• The objective of the campaign is to mobilise people and reinforce the “Jan Aandolan” for sanitation to contribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a Clean India.
• It will see large scale mobilisation of people from all walks of life to undertake shramdaan for cleanliness and construction of toilets and to make their environments free from open defecation. There will be targeted cleaning of public and tourist places.
• Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has made elaborate plans along with the State Governments to involve people from various walks of life and make this an unprecedented people’s campaign.
• Reaching out to the poor and marginalised and providing them with sustainable sanitation services would be the hallmark of this campaign.

Background:

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a campaign which was launched on 2 October 2014, and aims to eradicate open defecation by 2019, and is a national campaign, covering 4,041 statutory cities and towns. Its predecessors were the “Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan” and before that the “Total Sanitation Campaign”. The mission was divided into two parts — urban and rural.