Bhubaneswar : Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Clean India drive received mixed response Thursday in Odisha.
While central government offices organised the cleaning drive, the state government, its ministers, and officials preferred to stay away from the campaign.
Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the campaign in state capital Bhubaneswar and wielded the broom, symbolically, while union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram swept the premise of the railway station in the steel city of Rourkela.
The ministers also administered the pledge to all the officers, staff and volunteers.
People from all walks of life including officials, activists and students were seen cleaning offices, hospitals, railway stations, streets and public places.
In Rourkela, the CEO of the Rourkela steel plant, G.S. Prasad, led a cleanliness drive along with other senior officers and representatives of local industries.
With a broom in hand, as the Prasad swept the street, it struck a note of solidarity with the nationwide campaign, and spread the message of “Cleanliness is Godliness.”
Large number of local volunteers also joined him in cleaning activities by personally taking up the broom.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched his party’s own campaign in state capital Bhubaneswar.
The state governor S.C. Jamir however joined the nationwide cleanliness drive by wielding brooms and sweeping inside the Raj Bhawan complex here.