Ministers take part in swachhta campaign

Union ministers and senior officials of several agencies took part in the ‘Swachhta hi Sewa’ campaign at different locations on Sunday.

Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Mahesh Sharma, Hardeep Singh Puri and Alphons Kannanthanam took part in the campaign, aimed at mobilising people and reinforcing the Jan Aandolan for sanitation to contribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a Clean India.

Launched on September 15 and coordinated by the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, the initiative involves ‘shramdaan’ or voluntary work. The campaign will end on October 2.

Taking part in the campaign organised at Delhi Cantonment, defence minister Sitharaman said her ministry will carry out a drive to remove garbage from high altitude areas and glaciers.

Addressing a function organised by the New Delhi Municipal Council at Sarojini Nagar Market, housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri expressed “serious concerns” over the garbage crisis in the city.

“I would like to reach out to all Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Delhi by writing to them to do the needful to ensure such segregation. At present, only half of the waste generated in Delhi is being processed and this is a matter of concern,” the minister said.

In another function at Nizamudding railway station, senior officials led by railway board chairman Ashwani Lohani extended ‘shramdan’ and cleared garbage. Lohani also announced instituting an annual best sanitation worker award, handing over ₹5,000 cash award to a sanitation worker Pushpinder at Nizamuddin station.

Similar functions were also held at other government agencies including the Delhi Jal Board, Municipal Corporations and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.