{"id":536,"date":"2025-10-04T16:25:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T16:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=536"},"modified":"2025-10-04T16:25:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T16:25:25","slug":"when-every-citizen-becomes-a-safai-mitra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/04\/when-every-citizen-becomes-a-safai-mitra\/","title":{"rendered":"When Every Citizen Becomes A Safai Mitra"},"content":{"rendered":"

PM Modi has shown us the path. Now it is for us to walk it, together, as one nation, one people, with one mission, a Swachh Bharat where every citizen is a Safai Mitra and every act of cleanliness is a gift to our future.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Manohar Lal<\/strong><\/p>\n

I still recall the moment in 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked up a broom and swept the streets of Delhi. It was far more than symbolism\u2014it was a powerful reminder that the mission of a clean India cannot rest solely on the government but must be embraced by every citizen.<\/p>\n

A clean India is a shared responsibility, and the true strength of the Swachh Bharat Mission has been how it has turned cleanliness into a people\u2019s movement. It has turned every citizen into a \u2018Safai Mitra\u2019- from the student in schools to the homemaker, the shopkeeper to the worker in the fields and factories. Millions picked up the broom, transforming cleanliness from a government programme into a personal pledge of dignity, health, and pride.<\/p>\n

That single vision sparked a true jan andolan, where cleanliness became a matter of honour and pride. Modi Ji\u2019s calls of \u201cNa gandagi karenge, na karne denge\u201d and \u201cSwachhata Hi Seva\u201d inspired citizens across the country to act. What began as a government-led mission soon turned into the pride of every street, every neighbourhood, and every home, driven by an extraordinary wave of behavioural change.<\/p>\n

In 2014, less than 40 percent of households had toilets. Today, thanks to Modi Ji\u2019s leadership and the people\u2019s participation, more than 12 crore families have access to sanitation. Through the Swachh Bharat Mission, India has been declared open defecation free. The slogan \u201cHar Ghar Shauchalaya\u201d is no longer just a promise, it is a reality, bringing safety and dignity to millions of women and children, along with improved health.\u00a0 The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 3 lakh children\u2019s lives have been saved because of reduced diseases linked to open defecation. The Mission has now moved on to sustaining the ODF status and introducing\u00a0 comprehensive solid and liquid waste management, scientific processing of waste. The vision for SBM-Urban 2.0 is to achieve \u201cGarbage Free\u201d status by institutionalizing and nudging \u2018Swachh\u2019 behavior amongst the citizens.<\/p>\n

Modi Ji\u2019s genius has been to make the Swachh Bharat Mission about more than toilets and streets. It is about pride, culture, and the soul of the nation. From the Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan, giving schools separate toilets for girls and boys, to the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra, a living tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, every initiative has inspired citizens to see cleanliness as a mark of respect for themselves and their country. Festivals are brighter when they are plastic free, celebrations are more joyful when they do not leave behind waste, and each citizen understands that their small act contributes to a larger national pride.<\/p>\n

We have witnessed a remarkable journey of the Swachh Bharat Mission envisioned by the Hon\u2019ble Prime Minister\u2014millions of toilets constructed, villages and cities declared ODF, and citizens embracing cleanliness as a shared responsibility. It has been my firm belief that the campaign must now seek to transform collective consciousness into daily discipline, making Swachhata not just a practice but a way of life, and ensuring that the gains of the past decade form the foundation of a cleaner, healthier, and more dignified India for generations to come. Most importantly this phase of the Mission focusses on developing the capacities of local bodies not just to look visibly clean but address the issue of waste processing and remediation of legacy dumpsites. Even the largest cleanliness survey, Swachh Survekshan, now measures the city cleanliness on parameters of door-to-door waste collection, handling and processing of waste.<\/p>\n

With this vision, we celebrated last year\u2019s SHS week (SHS-24) under the theme \u201cSwabhav Swachhata \u2013 Sanskar Swachhata,\u201d which reflects a profound shift\u2014from infrastructure to instinct, from compliance to culture. Guided by the vision of the Prime Minister, we aim to establish cleanliness not as an obligation, but as a reflection of our character and values. Every citizen must internalise it as a daily habit and moral responsibility. By embedding cleanliness into our swabhav (nature) and sanskar (ethos), we are not just sweeping streets\u2014we are shaping a more dignified, healthier, and united India. True transformation will come when Swachhata becomes second nature, passed down through generations as a cherished legacy.<\/p>\n

As the festive season begins, the Hon\u2019ble Prime Minister has reminded us that celebrations are most meaningful when they are clean and eco-friendly. Festivals, he has said, should leave behind memories of joy, not piles of waste. In this spirit, Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) 2025 is being observed from 17th September to 2nd October under the theme \u201cSwachhotsav\u201d, with a focus on sustainability\u2014promoting plastic-free villages, zero-waste festivals, and waste segregation at source. The campaign reinforces that cleanliness is not a one-day effort but a continuous responsibility towards future generations.<\/p>\n

On the special call of Prime Minister Modi, Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) 2025 once again observed \u201cEk Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath\u201d on 25th September, the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. On this day, crores of Indians dedicated one hour to voluntary shramdaan, reaffirming that cleanliness is everyone\u2019s responsibility. Last year alone, over 8 lakh neglected spots in towns and villages were transformed into vibrant public spaces\u2014proving that collective effort can make cleanliness visible, tangible, and truly life-changing.<\/p>\n

The greatness of this mission lies not only in its achievements but in its spirit. Modi Ji did not ask citizens to merely keep their homes clean, he asked them to take ownership of their streets, parks, rivers, and nation. He did not speak as a distant leader but as one among us, appealing for one broom, one act, one hour. And because he spoke from the heart, the people responded from theirs.<\/p>\n

Narendra Modi is not only the architect of the Swachh Bharat Mission, but he is also its living soul. He is the lamp that lit the flame of cleanliness in every home. He is the gardener who sowed the seeds of dignity and nurtured them with the water of people\u2019s participation. He is the sentinel who reminds us that cleanliness is not the duty of someone else but the right and responsibility of each one of us.<\/p>\n

Every sweep of the broom, every clean corner, every plastic bag refused is not just about sanitation, it is about dignity, pride, and the India we want to leave behind for our children. As Modi Ji says, \u201cSabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas\u201d is incomplete without \u201cSabka Saath, Swachhata ka Vikas.\u201d Cleanliness is not someone else\u2019s work; it is everyone\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

I urge everyone not to confine Swachhata to a single day or a Pakhwada, but to carry this spirit throughout the year. Swachhata is not an event\u2014it is a way of life. Each of us must take responsibility in our homes, neighbourhoods, and communities, and practice it every single day. Let us make cleanliness a daily discipline and commit ourselves to the pledge of \u201cHar Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath\u201d\u2014one hour of collective effort, every day. When every citizen contributes a little, our nation shines brighter\u2014clean, vibrant, and proud\u2014realising the dream of a Swachh Bharat envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi, brought to life by Prime Minister Modi, and cherished by every Indian.<\/p>\n

Modi Ji has shown us the path. Now it is for us to walk it, together, as one nation, one people, with one mission, a Swachh Bharat where every citizen is a Safai Mitra and every act of cleanliness is a gift to our future.<\/p>\n

The author is the Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Power. The views and opinions expressed in this article are personal.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PM Modi has shown us the path. Now it is for us to walk it, together, as one nation, one people, with one mission, a Swachh Bharat where every citizen is a Safai Mitra and every act of cleanliness is a gift to our future.   Manohar Lal I still recall the moment in 2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":538,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536\/revisions\/538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}