PM Modi gets 'Global Goalkeeper' award for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday conferred the "Global Goalkeeper" award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by his government.
In a series of tweets in Hindi, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Modi lauded the countrymen for contributing to the grand success of the cleanliness mission, saying he shared the honour with them.
"Getting the award in the 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," the prime minister said.
He dedicated the award to those Indians who transformed the Swachh Bharat campaign into a "people's movement" and accorded topmost priority to cleanliness in their day-to-day lives.
"No such campaign was seen or heard about in any other country in the recent past. It might have been launched by our government, but people took control of it," Modi said.
As a result, over 11 crore toilets were built in the country in the last five years, which was a record, he said.
Stressing that the success of the campaign could not be measured in numbers, the prime minister said the poor people and the women of India were benefitted the most by it.
"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," he added.
It was the responsibility of his government to help the girls and women of the country come out of this situation and it had performed the duty with utmost sincerity, the prime minister said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had also acknowledged his government's efforts in this regard and said due to the Swachh Bharat campaign, a possibility was created to save three lakh human lives, he said.
Modi said he was told that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had also reported that as rural sanitation had improved in India, it had led to a decline in heart problems among children and improvement in the Body Mass Index (BMI) among women.
Expressing happiness that Gandhi's dream of cleanliness was about to be fulfilled, he said, "Gandhiji used to say a village could only become a model when it was completely clean. Today we are heading towards making the entire country a model."
"The campaign has not only improved the lives of crores of Indians, but it has also played a significant role in achieving the goals set by the UN," Modi said.
One of the least talked about aspects of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was that the 11 crore toilets built under it had opened a new chapter of economic activity in rural India, he said.
Stating that the simple meaning of democracy was that people should be at the centre of policies and schemes, the prime minister said for decades, India had witnessed "constitutional federalism", but it was his government that attempted to change it to "co-operative federalism" and with time, it was now moving towards "competitive-cooperative federalism".
He also voiced satisfaction that there was a race among all the states in India now to bag the top spot in the "cleanliness ranking".
Reiterating the philosophy of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (the whole world is one single family), Modi said India wanted to share its experience and expertise with other countries.
Besides the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, many other "people's movements" such as "Fit India" to promote fitness and preventive healthcare, the "Jal Jeevan Mission" focussing on water conservation and recycling were going on in India, he said, adding that the country was headed towards getting rid of single-use plastic by 2022.
The prime minister asserted that he had full faith that the strength and determination of 130 crore Indians would ensure the success of all such campaigns and thanked everyone associated with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for bestowing the honour on him.
The cleanliness campaign was launched by the Modi government on Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2, 2014.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
