90% Indians have toilet facility today: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that 90 per cent of Indians have toilet facility at their homes now as his government had got 8.3 crore toilets constructed since 2014 to make the country free of open defecation.

"Today, 90 per cent Indians have toilet facility, which was only 40 per cent before 2014. Over 4.15 lakh villages, 430 districts, 2,800 towns, 19 states and Union Territories have been declared open defecation-free," the Prime Minister said through a video posted on his Twitter account.

The Modi government came to power in May 2014 and constructed the toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

He said the World Health Organisation had expressed the possibility of saving lives of three lakh Indian children by the use of toilets.

Modi called upon the countrymen to come together at 9.30 a.m. on September 15 to mark the commencement of the "Swachhata Hi Seva Movement". The campaign will continue till October 2.

"On October 2, we mark the start of Gandhiji's 150th birth anniversary. It is also the day Swachh Bharat Mission completes four years of being a historic mass movement aimed at fulfilling Bapu's dream of a 'Clean India'. The 'Swachhata Hi Seva Movement' is a great way to pay tributes to Bapu. Come, be a part of this movement and strengthen the efforts to create a Swachh Bharat!

"I look forward to interacting with those who have worked assiduously on the ground to strengthen the Swachh Bharat Mission after which cleanliness activities will begin. I salute all those working towards a Swachh Bharat!" he said.

--IANS

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