New Delhi : Hundreds of excited residents of the Valmiki Colony gathered around Prime Minister Narendra Modi while many watched him from rooftops and balconies Thursday as he launched his Clean India campaign.
Modi reached the colony in the heart of Delhi and once home to Mahatma Gandhi around 8.30 a.m. to sweep a small area for less than a minute. Oct 2 marks Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
Modi also spent some time in the around 150 years old Valmiki temple, situated in one corner of the housing complex, as well as Bapu Niwas, a one-room quarter inside the temple premises where Gandhi stayed for 214 days, between April 1946 and September 1947.
The prime minister first prayed at the temple briefly and then walked over to the adjacent Bapu Niwas where he paid a floral tribute at the spot where Gandhi usually sat and spun khadi cloth.
According to the temple priest, Krishna Shah Vidyarthi, 60, Modi heard the history of the room, of the days Gandhi spent there and the portraits hung all over the walls.
“He didn’t talk much. He was just interested in learning about the history of the place,” Vidyarthi told IANS.
“His body language suggested he was determined to change things around. I hope this campaign is a success,” he added.
Modi then proceeded to the nearby memorial of Guru Gareeb Shah Brahmachari, a religious guru of the community, and offered rose petals.
The prime minister interacted with some residents who work as municipal cleaners before picking up the broom. He then used a dust pan to put the small pile of dirt into the dustbin.
“It is a moment of pride and happiness that the PM chose our locality to start the campaign. After all it is we who ensure that the society remains clean,” said Rajesh Nahar, a 40-year-old resident of Valmiki colony.
“We all know how to keep our houses clean. It’s time to start thinking about ways to keep our surroundings, city and the country clean as well,” he added.
Anita Singh, a 52-year-old homemaker from Tagore Garden who had come to Valmiki Colony, said: “I want (Modi) to work for our upliftment, specially in education where Valmiki youths have still to make a mark.”
Apart from the residents of the society, a large number of people had come to the venue from all over the capital.
Around 300 families live in the area. Most work with the civic agencies as sweepers.
Modi also inaugurated an eco-friendly toilet block that is based on technology provided by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and was built within seven days across the road from the colony.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Meenakshi Lekhi and party’s Delhi unit president Satish Upadhyay were with Modi at Valmiki Colony along with some other party colleagues and officials.
Modi began the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from the area to invoke the ideals of Gandhi who once lived there. Gandhi himself cleaned the surroundings, a gesture that inspired many.
Modi has said the campaign should clean up India by 2019, the 150th anniversary of Gandhi.