’Mera Vidyalaya-Swachh Vidyalaya’ campaign to run across Uttar Pradesh till Gandhi Jayanti

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 16 : In view of the Swachh Bharat Diwas celebrated on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Yogi Adityanath-led government has decided to launch an extensive cleanliness campaign across all schools and educational institutions in the state leading up to October 2.
As part of this initiative, children will be educated about the importance of cleanliness through various school and community-based activities. The main theme of this program will be ‘Mera Vidyalaya – Swachh Vidyalaya.’
Earlier, the Yogi government had also organized ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’ in all the educational institutions of the state from September 1, 2023, to September 15, 2023, which will now continue till October 2.
It is noteworthy that with the aim of making sensitivity towards cleanliness a mass movement, every year the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, October 2, is celebrated as Swachh Bharat Diwas.
In this sequence, the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ program is being jointly organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the Government of India, and Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural and Urban). With the objective to emphasise the importance of cleanliness in public places, the main theme of the proposed program 'Swachhata Hi Seva' has been set as 'Garbage Free India'.
Following the prayer assembly, a "Swachhata Pledge" will be administered across all schools and educational institutions, involving students, teachers, and staff. School teachers will lead waste disposal campaigns on school premises and hostels, emphasizing colour-coded solid waste management: green bins for wet waste and blue bins for dry waste.
Apart from this, tree plantation will be carried out in all schools, hostels and educational institutions and children will be made aware of nature conservation. A range of competitions, including essay writing, slogan creation, poetry, painting, speeches, quizzes, model construction, and drama performances, will be organized, focusing on topics such as "Garbage Free India" and waste management. Prizes will be awarded to encourage students who excel in these competitions.
Furthermore, community awareness rallies with cleanliness messages, emphasizing the importance of solid waste segregation and promoting alternatives to single-use plastics (SUP), will be conducted through educational institutions in both Gram Panchayats and urban areas.
Apart from this, in the morning meetings, teachers will make students aware of the importance of ‘Shramdaan,’ cleanliness and community service. During the campaign, leadership and cooperation of important stakeholders, institutions, individuals etc. will be obtained from public representatives, voluntary organizations working on cleanliness, NCC, Nehru Yuva Kendras etc.
With the aim of making this important campaign a mass campaign, maximum publicity of the program will be done through various social media platforms, print media, and electronic media.