Bharti Foundation announces Rs.100 crore for toilets in Ludhiana

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to corporates to chip in for rural sanitation projects, Bharti Foundation - the development arm of Bharti Enterprises - Monday announced a Rs.100 crore 'Satya Bharti Abhiyan' to provide toilets in Punjab's Ludhiana district.

"The foundation has decided to adopt Ludhiana district - home district of the Bharti founder Sunil Bharti Mittal, as its focus area for improvement of rural sanitation.

"As part of this programme, the foundation will invest up to Rs.100 crore in constructing toilets while reaching out to every rural household lacking such facilities in the district, over the next three years," a company release said.

Commenting on the initiative, Bharti Foundation chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said: "Lack of private sanitation facilities in rural households not only constitutes a major cause of embarrassment for the women, but also points to a much wider problem of rural hygiene and cleanliness.

"'Satya Bharti Abhiyan' will help cover a long felt gap in rural hygiene infrastructure in Punjab, besides contributing to the larger national mission of 'Swachh Bharat' in its own limited way. It is our commitment that no single household or school in rural Ludhiana will be without a toilet by the end of this tenure."

In addition to rural household sanitation, the campaign will also invest in improving sanitation facilities in government schools in rural Ludhiana by building new toilets for girls, where no such facilities exist.

"Lack of proper sanitation facilities, particularly for girls in rural schools has been an important factor leading to large scale drop outs," the release said.

The Bharti Foundation has been running other campaigns for free education to underprivileged children in rural areas with special focus on the girl child. Over 52,000 children from socially and economically challenged backgrounds are being covered under the campaign.