Narendra Modi lauds Nitish govt for leading Swachh Bharat mission

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being welcomed by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and state governor Satyapal Malik upon his arrival at Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in Patna on Tuesday. Photo: PTI

Motihari: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated the Nitish Kumar government of Bihar for leading the Swachh Bharat mission in India.

“I am proud of the fact that Bihar has shown its leadership abilities in this journey from Satyagraha to Swachhgraha,” Modi said while addressing around 20,000 ‘swachhagrahis’ (volunteers of cleanliness movement) at the concluding ceremony of the Champaran Satyagraha centenary celebrations.

The Bihar government had in April 2017 launched year-long celebrations to mark the centenary of Champaran Satyagraha movement of Mahatma Gandhi. Eleven projects worth over Rs3,000 crore have been sanctioned in Bihar to stop the flow of dirty and untreated water from homes and factories to the Ganga, the PMO Twitter handle quoted Modi as saying.

“In the past one week, over 8.5 lakh toilets have been constructed in Bihar and that is not an easy task to do. I congratulate Nitish Kumar government and all ‘swachhagrahis’ for their effort,” Modi explained. The development word undertaken in Bihar under Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi’s leadership has boosted the morale of the people, the PM said.

“I salute the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi present inside every individual. Those who say that history does not repeat itself, should come here and take a look at the mass movement,” he added.