Lucknow: On World Toilet Day, a two-day National Knowledge Workshop dedicated to safety, health and dignity in urban areas to promote managed sanitation was inaugurated at The Centrum Hotel in Lucknow by Union Minister of State for Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu, State Urban Development and Energy Minister AK Sharma, Minister of State Rakesh Rathore ‘Guru’, US Ambassador to India H.E. Eric Garcetti by lighting the lamp.
After this, Union Minister of Energy, Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal, while giving the message of cleanliness to everyone on World Toilet Day, said that all the states will pay special attention to the cleanliness, maintenance and safety of community and public toilets during the Toilet Swachhata Abhiyan and will also motivate people to use them and will make efforts to make the sewer network accessible to all.
Addressing the workshop, Union Minister of State Tokhan Sahu said that due to the resolve of Prime Minister, the entire country has become free from open defecation under the Swachh Bharat Mission. Prime Minister got the inspiration for cleanliness from Chhattisgarh. Due to his efforts, the Swachh Bharat Mission was started in 2014.
Its second phase started in the year 2021. Now every person in the country is paying attention to cleanliness by becoming aware of it. Due to which the spread of many diseases in the country has been freed and success has also been achieved in saving the lives of children and improving the respect and health of women.
Clean water, clean environment and clean toilets are very important for the life, happiness, peace and health of the citizens. This is the basic need of every citizen.
He said that the sages of the country have also described the cleanliness and purity of the Ganges and said that – “Kabir, the mind has become pure, like the water of the Ganges. Hari follows behind, saying Kabir-Kabir.” “I got a pure mind, I did not like deceit, fraud and meanness. Purity is in our culture. At the start of the Swachh Bharat Mission, it was called from the ramparts of the Red Fort that when we celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, our country should be free from open defecation.
On this call, the countrymen together have freed the country from open defecation. This is a matter of pride for the country. 10 years ago, there were no toilets in rural areas, people used to defecate in the open. This spread dirt and people also fell ill. Today, due to the efforts of Modi, toilets have been built in every house and people have got freedom from dirt.
Now due to rapid urbanization, challenges have also increased, to deal with which schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas, Urban Transport, Amrit Mission, Smart City were run. Under the Namami Gange Mission, complete management of home and black water and saving water sources from untreated water is to be done. With this view, the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission-2.0 was started in 2021, on which ODF cities are being made ODF Plus Plus and Water Plus cities.
Under the AMRUT scheme, 1.89 crore water connections and 1.49 crore sewer connections were provided in 500 cities across the country. Under AMRUT-2.0, water conservation is being promoted along with reuse of used water. Under Namami Gange, attention is being paid to the cleanliness of Ganga and Yamuna rivers.
Along with this, the government is also working for the cleanliness and revival of tributary rivers. In SBM U-2.0, an effort will be made to make every city of the country garbage free. While garbage management was 18 percent in 2014, it has now increased to 78 percent. Today, door-to-door garbage collection system is operational in 97 percent of the wards of urban areas of the country. 624 dumpsites have been cleaned. 3467 acres of land has been freed from garbage. 4000 cities have become ODF Plus.
1500 cities have received the status of ODF Plus Plus. 65 cities of the country have also become water plus. Praising the works of the Urban Development of the state, he said that the urban area of Uttar Pradesh has progressed in matters of cleanliness. Urban Development is trying with full readiness to organize the Maha Kumbh 2025 to be held in Prayagraj in a divine and grand manner.
Like the previous Kumbh, this time too cleanliness and hygiene will be seen in the Kumbh area. And this Mahakumbh will be celebrated as Swachh Mahakumbh. He said that I myself have come from Chhattisgarh, the maternal home of Lord Shri Ram, to the birthplace of Shri Ram, Uttar Pradesh. The arrangement and cleanliness of the state capital Lucknow is very commendable. Due to the efforts of the Urban Development Minister, Lucknow has started looking completely clean and beautiful in just two-three years.
He said that on World Toilet Day (International Toilet Day – 19 November), a 5-week ’19 November to 25 December’ Clean Toilet Campaign is being run by the Ministry of Urban Affairs of the Government of India across the country today. In this, he appealed to all the states that they will ensure better management of maintenance, cleanliness and security of all public and community toilets with full dedication.
So that the people using these toilets have a sense of cleanliness and peace in their minds and their use is encouraged and toilets become a symbol of dignity for all. He called for the construction and management of more and more public and community toilets.
State Urban Development and Energy Minister A.K. Sharma said that to realize the dream of cleanliness of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, to free people from open defecation and to promote cleanliness, Prime Minister had launched Swachh Bharat Mission on 02 October, 2014.
This scheme was started. Since then, people’s perceptions about cleanliness have changed in the country. So far, by constructing lakhs of toilets, all the bodies have got freedom from open defecation (ODF). In this, 435 bodies have become ODF Plus and 129 bodies have got the status of ODF Plus-Plus. In the state, the cleaning personnel also get full respect for their work. All efforts are being made for their socio-economic upliftment. They are being given the benefits of government schemes and good arrangements have been made for the education of their children. Taking care of the life and health of the cleaning personnel, machines are being used for dangerous cleaning works and cleaning of manholes.
All the workers engaged in cleaning work have also been given cleanliness and safety kits, along with this, their health is also tested. Other facilities are also being provided to them through citizens and institutions. Cleaning work is being done with complete safety. 30 to 40 percent of the garbage of the bodies is also being completely disposed of. Door-to-door garbage collection is being done in the wards.
He said that with the help of modern technology, success is being achieved in maintaining the cleanliness system of cities and garbage management. He said that when there was no urban system anywhere in the world, the residents of the Indus Valley of our country gave the system of urbanization to the world by adopting the system of drainage and septic system in ancient times itself. He said that in the last 2-3 years, all the festivals in the state are being celebrated as completely clean, plastic free and zero waste events. Recently, in the Chhath festival, all the Chhath Puja Ghats of other rivers including the Gomti River were made clean and beautiful, so that the devotees could worship in a clean and healthy environment.
Similarly, the Urban Development Department is continuously working to give the upcoming Maha Kumbh 2025 a divine and grand look with complete cleanliness. He said that Uttar Pradesh can be the 5th largest country in the world in terms of population ratio. The culture of our state is very ancient. Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura, Lucknow etc. are mythological cities.
Due to the narrow streets of ancient settlements here, there are difficulties in implementing drainage and sewage system. Still, efforts are being made to ensure that no one faces any problem here. He called for collective efforts to create a clean, healthy and continuously developed India for the coming generation.
US Ambassador to India, H.E. Eric Garcetti, while praising Lucknow in his address, said that Lucknow is not only a clean and beautiful city of India but also of the world. To maintain this cleanliness, safety and respect of sanitation workers along with infrastructure is very important.
Both the United States of America and India have the same objectives regarding cleanliness. Efforts are being made for better arrangements of sewage system for the people, recycling and reuse of waste and plastic. Serious work should be done to ensure that everyone gets the facility of sewage connection.
Principal Secretary Urban Development, Amrit Abhijat said that World Toilet Day is being celebrated today. Prime Minister has given a new look to the country in the world by inspiring for cleanliness. Everyone is being motivated to maintain cleanliness, which is bringing about a change in behavior.
Uttar Pradesh is the state with the largest population in the country, which also has the highest number of urban bodies. To maintain the cleanliness of cities, cleaning work is being done by increasing manpower in a systematic manner along with the use of technology.
Between the years 2014 and 2019, about 09 lakh toilets have been built in the urban areas of the state, for which proper arrangements have been made for cleaning and maintenance. DCCC (Dedicated Command and Control System) has been arranged for quick resolution of citizens’ problems.
Joint Director Urban Affairs Ministry and Mission Director Rupa Mishra said that with the start of Swachh Bharat Mission in the year 2014, special attention has been given to cleanliness. In SBM 2.0, attention is being given to topics like waste management, used water management etc. With the increase in civilisation in the country, the need for cleanliness has also increased, but the cleanliness of community and public toilets is still challenging. Where there is high population density, there is a need to build multi-storey treatment plants. There is a possibility of a lot of investment and startups in this sector. 30 percent of the bodies in the country have become ODF Plus Plus.
In the presence of the ministers in the workshop, two MoUs were signed between the Ministry of Urban Affairs, Government of India and Hindustan Unilever, the first of which is related to building community toilets on PPP model and the second is related to building Sulabh International Toilets in high footfall areas. Along with this, the ministers also launched the release related to Swachhata Publication by pressing the button.
The Urban Development Minister inaugurated and observed the exhibition organized on cleanliness in the workshop.
National Knowledge Workshop on Advancing Safely Managed Sanitation in Urban Areas in Lucknow On the occasion of World Toilet Day (19 November), a workshop on the subject of water management was organized at The Centrum in Lucknow. The aim of the workshop is to inspire global action to tackle the sanitation crisis. In India, the day holds special significance as it marks the day’s goal of improving urban sanitation under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).
