A 100-hour cleanliness pledge

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The day Narendra Modi-led government completed two years in power was also the day all ministers and bureaucrats had to take a "Swachhta Pledge".

It started with an exhortation to follow in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, who wanted a clean and developed India, and went on with officials promising to volunteer 100 hours a year, or two hours a week, to work towards cleanliness.

They also pledged to initiate a quest for cleanliness in their families, localities, towns and villages and encourage 100 more people to take the pledge to devote 100 hours of their time towards cleanliness.

Hours later, some officials were seen grumbling about when and how they would find those 100 hours, or for that matter, those 100 volunteers.