Forceful efforts needed to make 'Swachh Bharat' successful: Kiren Rijiju

He added the habit of keeping clean our surroundings has to be made a way of life

Everyone will have to come together and put in forceful efforts to ensure the full success of 'Swachh' India mission declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today said here.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs said despite a national campaign running for last fifteen months, much needs to be done still and the habit of keeping clean our surroundings has to be made a way of life.

"Lakhs of toilets have been made under the Swachh Bharat campaign after Prime Minister gave a call and urged countrymen to participate in this mission (on August 15 last year) but in order to ensure full success to this drive all of us will have to undertake more efforts and with a force," Rijiju said after flagging off a BSF cleanliness expedition to the Himalayas and river Ganga.

The Minister said even he had to make some hard efforts to ensure neat and tidy corridors at his North block office in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

He said keeping in mind the enormity of the issue, the Prime Minister had to announce the 'Swachh Bharat' mission from the ramparts of the Red Fort last year and the government is running it in a campaign mode all across the country.

Rijiju said when he asked why the South Block looked "more cleaner" than the North block, he was told footfalls and population was the reason.

"I think this is just an excuse and ensuring cleanliness has to be a mindset and has to be a way of life as prevalent in foreign countries," he said.

He complimented the Border Security Force (BSF) for undertaking the clean Himalaya and Ganga mission as he called the mountain ranges an icon of faith and religion for the countrymen.

"If the Himalayas are not clean, the country cannot be clean. They provide us water as many rivers emerge from these mountain ranges," he said.

He said the BSF troops, during their 45-day long expedition on road, mountains and water, will help in spreading the message of Clean Indian mission and will also educate people to keep "mother Ganga" clean.

The 60-member expedition team will cycle, trek and raft about 1,000km distance through various north Indian states before they end their voyage on the 50th Raising Day of the BSF in December here.

The force is tasked to secure two of the most important Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain.