Central Bureau of Communication-Goa, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, celebrated the Swachh Bharat Diwas in a unique way as around 700 students came together to form a massive image of Mahatma Gandhi at Viscount of Pernem High School, Pernem, today, October 2, 2024.
The programmes, conducted in collaboration with the Viscount school, marked the 10th anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014, under a ‘Whole of Government’ approach, making sanitation ‘everyone’s business’.
The students had gone under five days of training by Rajmohan Shetye, art teacher, to make the event a successful one. The entire process of the formation was shot with a drone camera.
Later, speaking at a function at the school, Rupa Deshprabhu, educationalist, said that it was important that each individual takes up the responsibility of keeping their surroundings clean, thus making the Clean India campaign a mass movement. She also talked about the importance of remembering the contributions of Lal Bahadur Shastri, an outstanding statesman and the third Prime Minister of India, whose birthday coincides with Gandhi’s birthday.
Addressing the gathering, Riyas Babu, Field Publicity Officer, CBC Goa, said that the Swachh Bharat Mission was not just about cleaning the premises. “The Nature magazine has praised the mission’s efforts, estimating that it helped avert 60,000-70,000 child deaths annually. Similarly, a 2018 report of the World Health Organization estimated that due to the campaign, over 3 lakh diarrhea deaths were prevented in 2019 compared to 2014. So, the campaign is also about saving lives, providing a hygienic environment and dignity to the under privileged,” he said.
Cultural programmes on Swachhata theme were staged by students at the event. The winners of the competitions were awarded prizes. The students also took a Swachhata pledge at the event. Rajendra Bondre, Headmaster, Viscount school, was also present at the event along with other teaching staff members, parents, students and officials of the CBC.
As part of the Swachhata Hi Seva campaign being observed from September 17 to October 02, the CBC had carried out cleanliness drive and conducted various competitions for the students. A tree plantation drive was also conducted under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam programme. The CBC has also put up hoardings on Swachhata mission in and around Panaji as part of its initiatives to create awareness among the masses.
