Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has congratulated the people of Uttarakhand for the State receiving seven national awards in the Swachchh Bharat Mission (Gramin).

These awards were presented on Friday by President Ram Nath Kovind and Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at the Vigya Bhawan in the national Capital.

The representatives who received the awards on behalf of the state met the chief minister at his residence here on Saturday.

Congratulating the representatives headed by the Potable Water secretary Arvind Singh Hyanki, the chief minister exhorted them to continue working with such dedication. He said that in line with Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s commitment to Swachchh Bharat from Sankalp to Siddhi (commitment to achievement), all will have to cooperate in the mission to achieve its target. Any campaign can be successfully only with the involvement of the public. Only through a clean India can the vision of healthy India be achieved.

Rawat said that Uttarakhand is the place where the Ganga and Yamuna rivers originate. Hence, it is the state which is first responsible for keeping these rivers clean. For keeping the Ganga and Yamuna clean and also for a clean Uttarakhand, all the people need to make a commitment and contribute their bit towards achieving the aim, said the chief minister.

Under the awards given out by the department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Jal Shaktri ministry, Uttarakhand received the best state award. Uttarkashi received the best district award, Mana village in Chamoli district received the Swachchh iconic place (third stage) award, Ajitpur village in Haridwar district received the best Namami Gange Gram award and Bagori village in Uttarkashi district received the best Ganga Gram award. Similarly, the chairperson of Shakti self help group, Sahaspur (Dehradun), Geeta Maurya was awarded in the woman champion category (national level) and Chandra Prakash from Shaheed Sainik Vidyalaya, Nainital, received the Swachchh Bharat summer internship.

The Uttarkashi district magistrate Ashish Chauhan, Swachchh Bharat mission project director Udairaj Singh, former Pradhan of Bagori, Bhawan Singh Rana and Ajitpur Pradhan Mayaram were also among those present in the delegation which met the chief minister.