Darwaza Band Campaign Launched

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has launched a nation wide campaign titled ‘Darwaza Band’ to promote toilet use and freedom from open defecation across the villages of the country. The campaign has been launched in Maharashtra in the presence of actor Amitabh Bachchan, Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Narendra Singh Tomar, and Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis.

Salient Highlights

The campaign will run under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The campaign will be rolled out immediately across the country.
Darwaja Band symbolically stands for shutting the door on open defecation.
The campaign is supported by the World Bank.
The campaign envisages to bring about a behaviour change in men who have toilets but are not using them.
Actress Anuskha Sharma is also part of the campaign who will encourage women to stand up for this issue and assume leadership roles in their villages.

Swachch Bharat Abhiyan

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Mission, launched on 2nd of October 2014, is so far the largest programme on sanitation by Indian Government. It has two sub-Missions viz. Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). While rural mission comes under the purview of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation; the urban mission comes under Ministry of Urban Development.
The basic objective is to provide sanitation facilities to every family, including toilets, solid and liquid waste disposal systems, village cleanliness, and safe and adequate drinking water supply by 2nd October, 2019.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017