Harsh Vardhan calls for healthier India, wants people to join forces to fight diseases

Promoting the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Saturday called for a healthier nation and stressed on joining forces to fight diseases across the country.

Dr. Vardhan said that a healthier nation can only be built if each one of us takes the initiative and pledges to combat water-borne diseases.

"All the vector borne, water borne diseases and diseases occurring due to ill-sanitation conditions in the society, all these health problems will vanish as a result of the cleanliness," Dr. Vardhan said.

"The number of people who spend money on treatment of diseases and visit doctors will reduce. People face infections and children fall sick and spend money on their treatment. The poor people face hard times. All this will be saved through this drive," he added.

Meanwhile, former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal asked the people of Delhi to monitor the cleanliness of their city.

"We appeal to the residents of New Delhi that if they find litter anywhere they should not keep shut, but they should keep a check and monitor this," he said.

The 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan', which Prime Minister Modi launched on the 145th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi focuses on getting rid of open defecation and installing smart waste management systems for both solid and liquid waste.

Since taking office, Prime Minister Modi has repeatedly invoked Mahatma Gandhi and lamented the poor state of sanitation and public cleanliness in India.