‘Swachhta diwas’ in schools, colleges to spur clean drive?

NEW DELHI: Designating a day as " Swachhta Diwas" in all educational institutions, making "Swachhta Geet" part of mid-day meals and school assemblies and increasing the number of Swachh Bharat ambassadors — these are some of the recommendations put before the high-powered committee on Swachh Bharat mission and Ganga rejuvenation that will meet on Wednesday.

The panel is headed by Union minister Arun Jaitley and includes senior ministers like Venkaiah Naidu, Uma Bharati, Maneka Gandhi, Smriti Irani and Chaudhary Birender Singh. The committee, that will be meeting for the first time, has to see that the campaigns reach down to the common man and lead to behavioural change.

Among the recommendations are designating the first working day of a week as "Swachhta Diwas" in all educational institutions. Officials said this could help inspire children and youth to become "change agents" who in turn will influence their families to adopt clean and hygienic practices.

Sources said that the each institution was also expected to constitute a "swachh ambassador committee" that would be in charge of the school or college's overall sanitation. Another recommendation was to use the "swachhta geet" composed by urban ministry to reinforce the message to all students and make the mission a "jan andolan (people's revolution)".