Guwahati: In an effort to enhance the sanctity of the pilgrimage sites, a sweeping cleanliness initiative, the ‘Swachh Tirtha Campaign,’ is set to take place across the northeast state of Assam from Sunday (January 14) to January 21, 2024. Aligned with the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Urban)’ initiative under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, this extensive campaign aims to clean temples and religious places across the country.


Under the vigilant supervision of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), Assam, operating under the aegis of Assam’s Department of Housing and Urban Affairs, a comprehensive clean-up endeavour will be launched on Sunday. The initiative will involve cleaning activities at all religious sites in the state and its surroundings, including the revered Kamakhya temple atop the Nilachal hills in the state’s capital Guwahati, the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), Assam, stated in a press release.


The local bodies and temple management committees or trusts will play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the campaign by actively engaging the local communities and the Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The goal is not only to achieve immediate visible cleanliness but also to enhance the overall sanitation and waste management practices, the DIPR release stated.


"The urban local bodies will organise dynamic cleanliness campaigns and channel wartime vigour, to maintain and beautify the temple premises, including upgrading toilet infrastructure at all the religious places in Assam. The involvement of students, youth, members of SHGs, as well as the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and National Service Scheme (NSS) cadets, will be strongly encouraged, fostering a sense of collective responsibility," it stated.


The Swachh Tirtha Campaign is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for collective action to transform Ayodhya into the cleanest city in India. After inaugurating key development projects in Ayodhya on December 30, 2023, the Prime Minister issued a clarion call for all the pilgrimage sites and temples nationwide to initiate a massive cleanliness campaign from January 14 to 21.


The release further stated that as the Swachh Bharat Mission declares the week between January 14 and 21 as the Swachh Tirtha Campaign, it seeks to instill a positive change in behaviour and attitude towards maintaining religious and spiritual premises and their surrounding areas clean and free of garbage.


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