NDTV- DETTOL ‘BANEGA SWACHH INDIA’ CAMPAIGN HOSTS ‘MAHA CLEANATHON’

Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis and campaign ambassador Amitabh Bachchan come together to extend their support to the cause

50 Swachh Cities by October 2,’ promises Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis

by Shrutee K/DNS

September 03, 2016: In partnership with the Maharashtra Government, NDTV-Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign hosted the Maha Cleanathon in Mumbai on 3rd September.It involved a clean-up drive at JJ Hospital, followed by a press conference at YB Chavan Hall. The drive urged all Mumbaikars to join this mass movement to make their city a cleaner and better place to live in. The clean-up drive was initiated by the Honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis and campaign ambassador Amitabh Bachchan with thousands of volunteers cheering and joining them.

50 cities in Maharashtra will be swachh or clean cities by October 2, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis , also announcing that 7000 villages in the state are now open-defecation free. “Maharashtra plans to have the highest number of Swachh cities,” vowed the Chief Minister, before Mr Bachchan and he picked up brooms to participate in the Cleanathon. In a year’s time,the chief minister said, Maharashtra will lead the way in solid waste management. “We will process every bit of garbage,” he said.

“We hope this movement continues and we can keep our cities clean,”said mega star Amitabh Bachchan. He congratulated Maharashtra on “becoming an example for India. ”

Mr Fadnavis stressed on public participation in building toilets. “If we don’t involve people in the construction of toilets, it doesn’t fulfill the purpose. It becomes a storage space,”he said.

The Maharashtra Government was one of the major contributors of the Cleanathon in season 2 and had pledged 50 lakh man hours towards the cause.At the press conference, the government shared the details of how these they have utilized over 32 lakhs hours already about other initiatives that are being undertaken by them under the Swachh Bharat Mission to work towards Swachh Maharashtra.  Also at the event, officials, organizations and individuals from all across Maharashtra were felicitated by Amitabh Bachchan for outstanding contribution to the Swachh cause.

Speaking on the occasion, Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV said,‘’When we initiated the campaign, we realized that the key concerns that exist when it comes to sanitation are inadequate awareness and infrastructure. Today we are proud that NDTV could gather the citizens of Mumbai for this unique initiative along with the government of Maharashtra. It was heartwarming to see significant personalities and government officials join hands to encourage peopleto keep our cities clean. I urge everyone to come out on 2nd October and contribute to our country in the best way we can!’’

Nitish Kapoor, Regional Director, RB South Asia, "Dettol NDTV Banega Swachh India is delighted to partner with governments andother civic bodies to make this happen & we are now looking forward to celebrating Rashtriya Swachhta Diwas on Gandhi Jayanti, at venues across the country."

Banega Swachh India in its third year is dedicating this 2nd October i.e.Gandhi Jayanti towards the cause of Swachh India and celebrating it as Rashtriya Swachhta Diwas. The campaign will be organizing the CLEANATHON, a 12hour TV event which will broadcast non stop across NDTV network i.e.NDTV 24x7, NDTV India, NDTV Profit & NDTV Goodtimes from9am to 9pm on 2nd October, hosted by campaign ambassador Mr Amitabh Bachchan and NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra. This year, the big focus is raising awareness about the 10 iconic places that have been identified by the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation to start a cleanliness drive as part of the pilot project under the Swachh Bharat mission. Specific agendas for each location will be created with actionable points and organizing clean up drives in each of the locations as part of the Cleanathon on 2nd October.  Last season, the campaign raised 1.16 crores volunteering hours towards a Swachh India. The committed hours will be utilized in these clean-up drives with us urging all Indians to take up swachhta as their personal responsibility and join the movement.

AboutThe Campaign : In 2014, RB (formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser) partnered with NDTV to launch “Dettol – Banega Swachh India”. It is a 5-year program to create awareness about the importance of hygiene and sanitation, and also work with NGO partners to support infrastructure for construction and maintenance of toilets and bringabout behavior change. RB India has committed to spend a sum of Rs.100 crores towards this program over a period of 5 years.

SEASON1 : In its first year, the campaign worked towards awareness and building toilets. Through the on-air programming, ground reports and ground activations, the nation was sensitized to the cause. The first season culminated into a 12 hour LIVE televised CLEANATHON on 14th December, 2014. It was India’s biggest and most popular sanitation event. It raised 281 crores to provide sanitation facilities and create awareness.

The campaign received donations fromMahindra & Mahindra, Bharti, Swades Foundation and individuals all across the country. Celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, SachinTendulkar, extended their support. Policy makers like Uma Bharti,Suresh Prabhu, Arun Jaitley to name a few joined our movement.The campaign successfully managed to align the campaign goals with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and he applauded our efforts onTwitter during the Cleanathon 2014.

SEASON2: The campaign believes the actual building of toilets is essential, there needs to be a greater focus on ensuring that the toilets are being used. In its second year, the campaign focusedon devising & implementing ‘behavior change communication models’ by a two point agenda:

i. Devising a 45-lesson hygiene curriculum & teacher-training module for schools

ii. Acquiring ‘TIME’ &‘COMMITMENT’ pledges from people to volunteer towardscleaning India

During the 12 hour televised Cleanathon in January, 2016 on NDTV network, individuals and corporates pledged over 1.16 crores volunteering hours towards a clean India.

The campaign partnered with Ministry of Urban Development and Union Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu pledged his whole hearted support to the campaign. The Maharashtra Government pledged 50 lakh man hours towards the cause. Corporates like Mahindra & Mahindra, PayTm, Make My Trip, Dabur, CII, CitiBank etc.joined the bandwagon.