Aravalli: In an inspiring move under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission, Gujarat’s Modasa Municipality in Aravalli district is leading the charge in promoting cleanliness through creative initiatives.
The municipality has taken proactive steps to transform the city’s polluted areas by installing paver blocks and creating vibrant wall paintings at identified garbage points.
As part of this mission, 13 pollution hotspots across the city have been targeted, with the goal of both beautifying and raising awareness about the importance of cleanliness. Beautiful murals now grace the main roads and areas with heavy pollution, acting as a visual reminder of the necessity for a cleaner environment.
These artistic efforts aim to instil a sense of responsibility among residents while highlighting the role they can play in maintaining a tidy and hygienic city.
Local resident Nileshbhai Joshi spoke to IANS about the success of the campaign, saying: “Prime Minister Modi’s vision has always been about a clean and healthy nation. Here in Gujarat, the state government has embraced this mission, and in Modasa, we’ve seen significant improvements. The municipality’s efforts to paint walls and address dirt have been widely praised. However, there are still areas that require attention. It’s important for everyone involved to keep working towards fulfilling the Prime Minister’s vision of cleanliness.”
Neeraj Sheth, Chief of Modasa Municipality, shared insights into the project’s development.
“We’ve identified high-garbage points like the GBP area and worked to improve them. In these locations, we’re not just painting walls, but also adding sitting areas, planting trees, and laying down paver blocks. This is just the beginning—we plan to continue this initiative and develop more areas as needed,” Sheth added.
The Swachh Bharat Mission represents a transformative phase in India’s sanitation narrative, driven by a history enriched with ancient innovations and bolstered by contemporary governmental efforts. Initiated in 2014 by the Prime Minister, the mission targeted making India clean.
This massive undertaking successfully mobilised nationwide participation, marking it as the largest behavioural change movement globally. By 2019, the mission celebrated the construction of over 100 million individual household toilets, declaring more than 6 lakh villages ODF, a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary and aligning with SDG Target 6.2.
(IANS)
