East Coast Railway Launches ‘Swachhata Pakhwada’ With Massive Cleanliness Drive

Bhubaneswar, Oct 1: East Coast Railway (ECoR) has launched a fortnight-long Swachhata Pakhwada, running from 1st to 15th October 2024, with a focus on ensuring cleanliness across Railway Stations, trains, offices, workshops, maintenance depots, hospitals, and residential areas under its jurisdiction, officials said on Tuesday.

This massive cleanliness drive is being carried out to create awareness and inspire collective action towards maintaining a clean and green India.

On the inaugural day of Swachhata Pakhwada, Parmeshwar Funkwal, General Manager, East Coast Railway, administered the Swachhata pledge to all staff and officers. The pledge emphasized the importance of personal responsibility in maintaining cleanliness, with employees committing to keep their premises clean and motivate the general public to do the same.

Earlier, from 14th September to 1st October 2024, ECoR celebrated Swachhata Hi Seva under the theme of "Swabhav Swachhata – Sanskaar Swachhata." The celebrations will culminated on 2nd October 2024, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, with Swachh Bharat Diwas events across the East Coast Railway network.

As part of Swachhata Pakhwada, ECoR has planned a series of large-scale cleanliness activities, focusing on engaging Railway employees, passengers, and stakeholders in sustained cleanliness efforts. These activities include:

Cleanliness Drives: Special drives at Railway stations, onboard trains, in offices, workshops, and residential areas.

• Competitions: Painting and drawing competitions themed around cleanliness to raise awareness.

• Anti-littering Campaigns: Awareness campaigns about the hazards of littering at stations and on trains.

• On-board Cleanliness: Focus on maintaining cleanliness within trains, especially in coaches, toilet blocks, and pantry cars.

• Clean Water Installations: Checks on cleanliness at water supply installations, drinking water taps, and water quality across stations.

• Feedback from Passengers: Soliciting passenger feedback on the quality of food served and the cleanliness of the premises and amenities.

The Swachhata pledge taken by ECoR employees includes a commitment to devote 100 hours annually towards cleanliness activities and to encourage at least 100 other individuals to do the same. This initiative echoes Mahatma Gandhi's vision for a clean India and underscores the need for collective action to maintain hygiene in both personal and public spaces.

East Coast Railway remains committed to its mission of achieving cleanliness across all its Divisions, aiming to inspire widespread community involvement. With the support of passengers, railway users, and the general public, ECoR is leading the charge towards a cleaner and healthier environment.