Emphasis on cleanliness through Swachh Bharat mission has changed Uttar Pradesh: CM Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asserted that the introduction of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has helped the state government realise the "distant dream" of cleanliness.

"Earlier, for Uttar Pradesh, cleanliness was a distant dream. But your (Prime Minister Modi) emphasis on cleanliness has changed the condition of the state. After March 2017, the movement towards a Swachh Bharat got a boost in our state," he said while interacting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day during the Swachhta hi Seva movement.

Adityanath further said that the natives of the village where he was interacting used to earlier defecate in the open because they had no toilets. However, he noted that the cleanliness drive has helped in transforming the village into an open-defecation free zone.

The Chief Minister further revealed that 25 lakh toilets were built in the state since 2015, adding that in accordance with the Base Line Survey, Uttar Pradesh will be declared open-defecation free by October 2 this year, and every home will have a toilet by next year.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi launched the Swachhata Hi Seva movement via video conference, in line with Mahatma Gandhi's dream of a Clean India.

The Prime Minister appealed to the citizens to dedicate themselves towards achieving the aim of a clean country starting today.

Among those who participated in the movement included Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, industrialist Ratan Tata, spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev and others.

-ANI