Govt all geared up for Swachch Bharat campaign launch today

NEW DELHI: Surprise visits, ministers out in their constituencies, bureaucrats on their toes, clearing up files, buying brooms – the government is abuzz with activity, preparing to join in as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the Swachch Bharat campaign on Thursday.

From Delhi’s bhawans which house ministries to railway stations across the country, action on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary will span across India’s public spaces.

Railway premises will become the face of the campaign, with Cabinet ministers and MPs wielding the broom at platforms and stations.

Women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi and food minister Ram Vilas Paswan will do the honours at the Pilibhit and Hajipur railway stations.

Uma Bharati, Ananth Kumar, and Ravi Shankar Prasad have been roped in for clean-up jobs at the Jhansi, Bengaluru and Patna railway stations respectively.

Other ministers too will return to their constituencies.

The Railways Delhi division itself has procured an estimated 12,000 brooms for the October 2 event. After having once again dusted up his office last week, Railways minister DV Sadananda Gowda has been taking impromptu inspection visits to different offices, canteens, toilets and cupboards in the Rail Bhawan.

The urban development ministry is spearheading the ` 62,000 crore Swachch Bharat mission in urban areas, as part of which it has proposed to provide toilets in every household by 2019.

The Central Public Works Department has purchased two dozen brooms to clean up Nirman Bhawan, the ministry headquarters. At the ministry of external affairs, over 1,000 officials are set to take part in the mission.