Kamakhya will be a shining example of Swachta Abhiyan: Sonowal

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Sept 20: Iugurating the Swachta Abhiyan programme at the Kamakhya temple premises under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal today said Kamakhya temple will become a prime example of cleanliness amongst all the ten iconic places chosen for the scheme all over the country. He said that together with the civil society the government will achieve Gandhiji’s dream of a clean India and Assam will have to lead by example in cleanliness and hygienic practices in the country.

Swachta Abhiyan is a target specific pilot project under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which will be carried out in ten iconic places from all over the country primarily with religious and spiritual significance. The places which have been selected are and Kamakhya Temple in Assam, Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu and Kashmir, Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh, Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh, Golden Temple in Punjab, Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan, Jaganth Temple in Orissa, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Maharashtra, Manikarnika Ghat in Uttar Pradesh, Meekshi Temple in Tamil du. A total of 100 such iconic places are planned for Swachta Abhiyan and after completion of scheme in the initial 10 places it will be rolled out to 90 such places.

While thanking Prime Minister rendra Modi for choosing to start the tiol programme from Kamakhya Temple, Chief Minister Sonowal said that Maa Kamakhya’s blessings would guide everyone to make this cleanliness drive a grand success and Assam will strive hard to make Prime Minster Modi’s dream of clean India a reality. He said if we are to become top tion of the world then we must practice cleanliness as a way of life and also inspire the young generation to commit themselves to keep their surroundings clean.     Reiterating that cleanliness is next to godliness, Chief Minister said that the Kamkhya temple is visited every year by thousands of tiol and intertiol tourists and devotees and it is everyone’s prime duty to keep the shrine clean to spread the message of Swachta Abhiyan.  The behaviour of the people will have to be changed for inculcating the habit of clean and hygienic living and awareness campaign would be carried out for this purpose under Swachta Abhiyan, he said.  Along with worshipping Maa Kamakhya the devotees must take it as their solemn duty to keep the shrine clean to worship in truest sense of the term, Sonowal added.  He moreover also called on the priests of the shrine to make the scheme a success.  Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation rendra Singh Tomar, who was also present on the occasion, said that all members of the civil society must cooperate with the government agencies to make Swachta Abhiyan a great success.