New York: It was a proud moment for 1.3 billion Indians when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the ‘Global Goalkeeper’ award for the government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan awarded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Naredra Modi said that he will share the award with his countrymen for contributing to the success of Swachh Bharat.
Modi said, “Getting the award this year of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary is personally significant for me. When 130 crore people take a pledge, any challenge can be overcome. ”
He also dedicated the award to those who transformed the Swachh Bharat in a people’s movement and gave priority to cleanliness in their routine life.
While saying that such a campaign was not attempted by any other country in the recent past, he outlined the benefits and achievements of Swachh Bharat. He said that 11 crore toilets were constructed in the last five years, which was a record.
Narendra Modi said that poor people especially women were benefitted the most.
He said, “Due to lack of toilets, a number of girls had to drop out of schools. Our daughters want to study, but because of lack of toilets, they had to abandon their education mid-way and sit at home.”
Modi quoted Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s study that said rural sanitation had improved in India, heart problems in declined in children and also that the Body Mass Index had improved among the women.
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the mass cleanliness program was launched on 2 October, 2014 on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
