Sulabh launches 'Towards Villages' campaign

In a major step towards rural sanitation, 'Rail Swachch Mission' brand ambassador and founder of Sulabh Sanitation Movement Bindeshwar Pathak on Sunday launched an intensive campaign to ensure toilet for every household in the country by 2019.

Launching the special campaign 'Sulabh Towards Villages', Pathak handed over five toilets to poor families in Ithara village in Jaunpur district.

Pathak urged villagers to support the ongoing 'Clean India Campaign' to make India free of open defecation by 2019. He added that big companies and corporate houses can provide assistance for toilet construction to show their love for their motherland.

He said that nearly 12 crore toilets are required to be built by 2019. "This is a big task, but together we can do it and all Indians can play a pivotal role. This is a unique opportunity for corporate houses and business groups to show their love for the country," he said.

Pathak said that there are nearly two crore NRIs and if each of them contributes to building six toilets over a span of three years, this target can easily be met.

An individual toilet costs approximately Rs 30,000 and six toilets will cost a total of approximately Rs. 2 lakh, which can be given over a period of three years. India has 675 districts, 6,849 blocks, 2.51 lakh panchayats and 6.46 lakh villages.

He requested people from rural areas to join hands to make India clean and free of open defecation and thus pay a befitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary on October 2, 2019.

Sulabh has been a pioneer in providing sanitation solutions to the poor and works across the country to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swachhh Bharat' mission, and other urban development initiatives.

Under Corporate Social Responsibility, Sulabh is collaborating with a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and corporate houses to build public and individual toilets across the country.

Sulabh, which engages over 50,000 people, has so far constructed nearly 10.5 million household toilets and 8,500 public toilets used by nearly 15 million people daily across the country.

--IANS

md/lok/vt