Rajnath Singh leads cleanliness drive at Army HQ

New Delhi, Sep 25: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today led a special cleanliness initiative, ‘Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath’, at the Army Headquarters Unit Run Canteen as part of Swachhotsav 2025 under the nationwide ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign (September 17-October 2).

The drive, themed around the festive spirit of the nation, sought to promote collective action for a clean, green, and healthy environment. During the event, the Defence Minister took the ‘Swachhata Sankalp’, reaffirming his commitment to sanitation and environmental care.

He felicitated Safai Mitras for their service, planted saplings to promote an eco-friendly, zero-waste culture, and flagged off a Safai Run with 100 NCC cadets, symbolising youth participation in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.

Addressing the gathering, Rajnath Singh said cleanliness is “a way of life” reflecting discipline and responsibility. He emphasised that clean surroundings enhance health, mental well-being, and inner peace, while unclean spaces spread disease and negativity. He linked the campaign to India’s civilisational values and reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making cleanliness a mass movement. Highlighting the Ministry of Defence’s efforts, the Defence Minister said military establishments are now open-defecation free and are being developed as model centres of cleanliness through collective drives and waste-to-wealth initiatives. A clean, healthy, and conscious society, he added, is “a pillar of national security,” urging citizens to adopt cleanliness as a national duty. The event was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, DRDO Chairman Samir V. Kamat, senior MoD officials, and personnel of the armed forces.