500 cities declared as “Safai Mitra Surakshit Shehar”

According to Government data, 500 cities across India have declared themselves as ‘Safai Mitra Surakshit Shehar’. All the cities have achieved sufficiency in terms of institutional capacity, equipment norms and manpower as provided by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.

• All the cities are now providing safe working conditions for Safai Mitras.
• The “Safai Mitra Surakshit Shehar” declaration is in line with goal of promoting sustainable sanitation practices under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban.
• This move will act as catalyst in transforming every ‘manhole’ into a ‘machine hole’. This, it will help in eliminating manual scavenging.

The Safai Mitra Suraksha Challenge

Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the Safai Mitra Suraksha Challenge on the occasion of World Toilet Day on November 19, 2020. It was launched across 243 cities of India, with the objective of mechanizing all sewer and septic tank cleaning operations. The campaign was implemented from November 19, 2020 to August 2021. This challenge was aimed at eliminating hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. It set the target of mechanizing all sewer and septic tank cleaning by April 30, 2021.

World Toilet Day

November 19 was designated as “World Toilet Day” by United Nations General Assembly in 2013. It is managed by UN-Water in association with governments and partners. The day is aimed at breaking stigma associated with sanitation.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2022

Category: Government Schemes Current Affairs