Swachhta Abhiyan be made matter of pride for women: Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary

Uttar Pradesh Panchayati Raj minister Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary today stressed on making the ' Swachhta Abhiyan' a matter of pride for women, saying it will help to make the people aware of cleanliness and need for construction of toilets.

"By making the swachhta abhiyan a matter of women's pride, we can make people aware of cleanliness and construction of toilets," he said during a workshop here.

Asking for media's support in making the state open defecation free, Chaudhary said it can convert the initiative into a mass movement.

The Swachh Bharat mission has been launched to stop open defecation in the rural areas and craete awareness about hygiene and this programme is of top priority to both the central and state governments, he said.

The state has got constructed the highest number of toilets -- 3.52 lakh -- in the country, he added.