The Minister, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Narendra Singh Tomar, today launched a national audio-visual campaign for the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). The advertisements launched feature Swachh Bharat official brand ambassadors, Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar.Speaking at the launch, the Minister said that the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has fully galvanised its IEC (Information Education Communication) and BCC (Behaviour Change Communication) mechanisms to make the advertisements increasingly people centric. He stressed that this was very essential because IEC/BCC are core interventions for behaviour change and citizen engagement.The Minister expressed his special gratitude to Shri Amitabh Bachchan and Shri Sachin Tendulkar for playing a crucial role in the success of the Mission by publicly lending their support through the advertisements launched today.Responding to a query, the Minister said that the commitment of Shri Bachchan and Shri Tendulkar to sanitation and Swachh Bharat is unquestionable and complete. Despite their busy schedules, they have taken time out to not only actively conceive and shoot the advertisements, but also made appearances at various Swachh Bharat events to encourage and motivate grassroot workers and sanitation champions, he said.He also expressed his gratitude to development partners, UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BBC Media Action and Dettol Banega Swachh Bharat campaign for their support to the Ministry in putting together the advertisements launched today.
The three ad films can be found on the Ministry’s YouTube channel at the following links:
1. Ad film featuring Shri Amitabh Bachchan: https://youtu.be/3lCJsIjICVI
2. Ad film featuring Sachin Tendulkar: https://youtu.be/8COTfK-WXdA
3. ‘Badi Baat’ ad film: https://youtu.be/SCx5OrQbblk
The Minister gave a run-through of the activities planned for the Swachh Bharat Week celebrations to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission, from 25th September, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jayanti, to 2nd October 2016, Gandhi Jayanti. He urged the mediato lend their support to the Swachh Bharat Mission by giving these activities extensive coverage.Five short films that showcase real-life stories of individuals from different walks of life were also launched at the event. They are stories of people who have made the Swachh Bharat Mission their own by adopting innovative ideas to encourage the use of toilets in their communities and adopt sustainable waste treatment practices in their respective communities. These stories are examples of a wider citizen’s movement across the country to encourage the adoption of safe sanitation practices and realize the goal of an Open Defecation Free India by 2019.The five films, in both Hindi and English languages, can be found on the Ministry’s YouTube channel at the following link:http://bit.ly/2a3sDul
Speaking about the upcoming event, INDOSAN (India Sanitation Conference), the Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Parameswaran Iyer, said that INDOSAN would be an annual joint event by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Ministry of Urban Development. To be inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, the event will be an occasion to take stock of the progress made so far in 2 years of Swachh Bharat, and to look at the road ahead. The event will also be a critical platform for getting key stakeholders to re-dedicate themselves to achieving Swachh Bharat by October 2nd, 2019. Major sanitation innovations in SBM – both rural and urban – will also be showcased on the occasion.