On Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi lauds Indore for becoming India's first 'Water Plus' city

PM Modi mentioned how Indore's name automatically comes up when people talk about Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded Madhya Pradesh's Indore for becoming the first “Water Plus” city in the country. PM Modi’s praise for the city came while he was talking about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on the 80th episode of his Mann Ki Baat radio address.

Regional Park Indore (File Photo/Used only for representation)

“Whenever we talk about Swachh Bharat, Indore’s name automatically comes up. This is because the city has created a unique identity for itself when it comes to cleanliness and people of Indore deserve applause for this. Indore has topped Swachh Bharat rankings for many years now. But people have now decided that they are not merely content with the ranking. They want to move forward and achieve something new,” he said.

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Residents have made up their mind to keep Indore a Water Plus city, PM Modi further said. “Such a city is one where no sewage is released into a public water source without treatment. Citizens have themselves come forward to link drains in their houses to sewage lines and have also carried out the Swachhata Mission. Because of this, the volume of sewage water mixing into the waters of rivers Saraswati and Kanh has vastly reduced. This improvement is visible as well,” the Prime Minister explained.

At a time when the nation is celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav, we all should take a resolve to not let the cleanliness mission weaken, he added. “The more Water Plus cities we have in the country, the more beneficial it will be to us,” PM Modi remarked.

Indore, the largest city and commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, was, on August 11, declared as the first Water Plus city in India by the Union government under the Swachh Survekshan 2021. To earn such a distinction, a city needs to fulfil three criteria: dirty water from it should not enter a river or drain, all public toilets there should be cleaned and connected to sewage lines, and 30 per cent of its sewage water should be recycled and reused.