Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the 'Global Goalkeeper Award' for the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for 'Swachh Bharat' campaign.
Modi, while accepting the award said that he sharedthe honour with crores of Indians who had contributed to the success of thecleanliness mission.
Modi said, "This honour is not mine but of the crores of Indians who not only fulfilled the Swachh Bharat dream but also made it a part of their daily lives. It is very important for me personally to be given this award on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This is proof that if the manpower of 130 crore people is able to fulfill a single resolution, any challenge can be won."
He further stated that democracy simply means that people should be at the centre of systems and schemes adding that a strong democracy is the one who creates policies by keeping the needs of the people at the centre. "In the last five years, 11 crore toilets were constructed which is a record and if this mission has benefitted someone the most, it is the poor section especially the women," said Modi.
Modi said that the Swachh Bharat campaign has benefitted mostly the women as they are the one who faces the biggest problem. They used to wait for the evening to go out to defecate. Many girls had to drop out of school due to lack of a toilet in schools and it is the responsibility of our government to tackle the problem, said Modi.
The Prime Minister further reiterated that India had launched a campaign to get rid of single-use plastic by 2022. "Today, while I am talking to you, the work of collecting plastic waste is going on in many parts of India," Modi added.
