Face of Nation : PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday said rural India has declared itself open defecation free, as the country celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, an icon of not just Indian independence but also cleanliness.
“Today rural India, its villages have declared themselves open-defecation free. They have used self-inspiration, self-will and co-operation to achieve this through the Swachh Bharat Mission,” he said at an event at Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat. The Prime Minister said that Indians have shed their hesitation for talking about sanitation and it has become an integral part of their “thought-process”.
The announcement appeared somewhat tempered from expectations of a sweeping declaration that India was absolutely free of open defecation.
“In 60 months, we have provided toilets to over 60 crore people by constructing over 11 crore toilets. The world is amazed at our success,” PM Modi, who launched the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ in 2014, said. He said the centre’s flagship sanitation scheme had created over 75 lakh jobs.
PM Modi made his “latrines for all” pledge when he first took office in 2014, winning him plaudits abroad – including an award last week from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
