'Swachcha Vidyalaya' campaign kicked off from Varanasi

The State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday launched the "Swachcha Vidyalaya" (Clean Schools) campaign from Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The campaign has been rolled out in association with sanitation NGO Sulabh International.

SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya and Sulabh Sanitation mentor Bindeshwar Pathak kicked off the initiative by inaugurating the first toilet at a primary school located in Shivpur here.

Lauding the effort of low-cost sanitation expert Sulabh in improving the sanitation scenario, the SBI chairman said: "We are confident that their expertise in this area will make the initiative a grand success."

On the occasion, Pathak thanked the SBI for giving so much importance to the issue of sanitation in primary schools and hoped that such initiatives will certainly give boost to Modi's Clean India dream.

Bhattacharya announced it had been decided to adopt at least one district in every state of the country to ensure 100 per cent toilet coverage in primary school soon. The bank has started 'Sawchcha Vidyalaya' initiative in 9 states and toilets construction has already started, an official told IANS. SBI will spend Rs.20 crore for this initiatives this year.

"Funds will not be an issue to improve sanitation in schools," Bhattacharya told the gathering and added that under this campaign State Bank of India and Sulabh will work in improving sanitation facilities in government schools in rural areas across the country.

Pathak said: "Our attention towards cleanliness of the historic city of Varanasi is not new. This organisation runs public toilets for decades and has been maintaining some of the Ghats. Recently we not only cleaned Assi Ghat but also excavated at least 25 stairs which lay buried under mud for several decades." The cleaning of the famous Kashi Viswanath Temple is also being done by Sulabh.

-- Indo-Asian News Service

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