India News | Railway Ministry Administers Pledge to Employees to Observe Cleanliness, Educate People to Use Bio-toilets
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The railway ministry has launched Swachhata Pakhwada 2023, a cleanliness campaign, for a fortnight under which all its employees have taken a pledge to devote 100 hours per year to cleanliness and propagate it among people.
New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) The railway ministry has launched Swachhata Pakhwada 2023, a cleanliness campaign, for a fortnight under which all its employees have taken a pledge to devote 100 hours per year to cleanliness and propagate it among people.
Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairperson and CEO, Railway Board, while inaugurating Swachhata Pakhwada 2023, took a pledge at the Rail Bhawan here with employees across all zones and divisions, who were connected through video-conferecning, to remain committed towards cleanliness and devote "hundred hours per year for cleanliness and propagating the message of Swachh Bharat Mission".
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"The Ministry of Railways is observing Swachhata Pakhwada from 16th September 2023 to 30th September, 2023. The Ministry of Railways has extended it suo-moto up to 2nd October and has decided to culminate it with Mahatma Gandhi's Jayanti," a statement from the ministry said.
"This year, a joint campaign of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Jal Shakti, namely 'Swachhata hi Sewa' (SHS) Campaign (from September 15, 2023 to October 2, 2023), is also being celebrated. Activities of SHS have been integrated with Indian Railways' Swachhata Pakhwada programme," it added.
Under the Swachhata Pakhwada 2023 campaign, the ministry has assigned dedicated days for various activities, such as Swachh Railgadi (clean train), Swachh Station (clean stations), Swachh Aahar (clean food) and Swachh Tracks (clean tracks).
It has also planned an extensive awareness campaign to be carried out through digital media or public announcement systems to educate people about the use of bio-toilets, avoiding single-use plastic and observing cleanliness habits.
In order to ensure greater participation and more effective outcome of the fortnight, Swachhata Pakhwada awards have been provided to each ministry by the Ministry of Jal Shakti (the nodal ministry) for recognising the efforts of field functionaries, attached offices and subordinate organisations for an exemplary performance during the campaign period.
"Previous year's Swachhata Pakhwada 2022 awards have been given to the following zonal railways: 1st position: South Western Railway; 2nd position: Western Railway; 3rd position: North Eastern Railway," the ministry said.
"Indian Railways is an environment-friendly means of bulk transportation and it has always been in the forefront of promoting a clean and green environment. It has taken several initiatives for providing a clean environment in and around railway stations and trains, such as bio-toilets on coaches leading to clean tracks, segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, solid waste management, discourage use of single-use plastic etc.," it added.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)