With the overwhelming success of the Swacch Bharat Campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the recipient of the Global Goalkeeper Award in 2019. The award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was presented to PM Modi by Bill Gates in New York on September 25.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or the Clean India Mission, was launched by PM Modi in his first term at the Centre in 2014.

PM Dedicates Award To Nation

PM Modi had launched the Swacch Bharat Campaign on October 2 that is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti. He said that he was touched and honored to be receiving the award in the year of Gandhiji’s 150th anniversary. He said that he dedicated the award to all those Indians who transformed the Swachh Bharat campaign into a "people's movement". He further said that although the government initiated the campaign, it is in fact, the people of the country who took charge of it to make it successful.

Benefits Of The Campaign

PM Modi said that the majority of people have benefitted from the campaign, especially women. Many girls would earlier drop out of school due to a lack of toilet facilities. The cleanliness campaign stressed on the importance of toilets and this awareness led to the construction of adequate toilets in many villages across India, much to the relief of girls and women. Improved rural sanitation has also improved the health of the people.

Let us hope that the plastic ban to be introduced on this Gandhi Jayanti also meets with huge success for the betterment of the environment.

Image Source: Sakshi Post