Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], May 3 (ANI): On Gujarat Foundation Day, a cleanliness campaign was conducted at religious sites across the state under the 'Swachhta Mein Sahakar' initiative.

'On the occasion of Gujarat Foundation Day on May 1, 2025, a special cleanliness campaign was organised as part of these ongoing efforts. Conducted at various religious sites across the state, the campaign reflected the Government of India's vision of 'Swachhata Mein Sahakar',' as per a Gujarat Chief Minister's office release.

This initiative was also aligned with the celebrations for the International Year of Cooperatives 2025 (IYC2025). Under the leadership of Gujarat's Minister of State for Cooperation, Jagdish Vishwakarma, the State Cooperation Department, along with various cooperative institutions, carried out a series of cleanliness-focused activities across these locations.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, 'Where there is cleanliness, there is divinity.' He envisioned a Clean India, and to realise this vision through public participation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on October 2, 2014, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti.

'Over the years, this national initiative has grown into a mass movement, with Gujarat making significant contributions toward a Cleaner India by first ensuring a cleaner Gujarat. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the state has been implementing various cleanliness-driven initiatives to support this mission,' the release read.

It is noteworthy that the United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC2025). The theme for this global observance, 'Cooperatives Build a Better World,' highlights the crucial role of cooperative institutions in driving socio-economic development, reducing poverty, and creating employment opportunities.

'On the occasion of Gujarat Foundation Day, a large-scale cleanliness campaign was carried out under the statewide 'Swachhata Mein Sahakar' initiative. Cleanliness activities were conducted at 25,000 religious sites across 13,000 villages in 252 talukas,' the release read.

To ensure the effective execution of the campaign, around 1,50,000 rural residents--including school teachers, principals, sarpanches, deputy sarpanches, and other community members--actively took part in various cleanliness-related efforts.

'Additionally, nearly 15,000 cooperative institutions extended their support and played a key role in the programme's success. Using five lakh cleaning tools such as tractors, shovels, brooms, dustbins, and handcarts, the campaign successfully collected 50,000 kilograms of waste,' the release read.

This programme was organised to raise awareness about cleanliness and instil a sense of responsibility among citizens to preserve the sanctity of religious places, while also promoting unity through cooperative efforts.

'On this occasion, religious leaders, local representatives, and cooperative leaders came together and pledged to bring about positive change in society through cooperation,' the release read.

The campaign saw enthusiastic participation from the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Nilesh Upadhyay, all district registrars, and a wide range of cooperative institutions operating at the district, taluka, and village levels.

'Active involvement was also witnessed from cooperative leaders, stakeholders, and members and employees of the Gujarat State Milk Marketing Federation (Amul), Gujarat State Cooperative Bank, Gujarat State Cooperative Union, milk unions, milk societies, and primary agricultural credit societies,' the release read.

To further ensure the success of the campaign, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Narhari Amin, along with several Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), corporators, senior officials, more than 3,000 cooperative leaders, and nearly 200 APMC chairpersons, also participated actively in the drive.

As part of the 'Swachhata Mein Sahakar' campaign, large-scale cleanliness activities were carried out at various religious sites across the state. Members of rural and urban cooperative institutions, along with youth and women, played a crucial role and made significant contributions to this collective initiative.

'Through this campaign, Gujarat not only celebrated its Foundation Day in a meaningful way but also powerfully reinforced the message of cleanliness among the people,' the release read. (ANI)