AGARTALA, October 31 (TIWN): Taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to rid the country of litter and rubbish, School Students of Umakanta Academy Higher Secondary School today cleaned the school area around it to spread the message of 'Swachh Bharat'.

Every road, every path, every office, every home, every hut, every stream and every particle in the air around us can and must be kept clean, said Head Master Prana Debbarma.

Prana Debbarma also urged every citizens of the state to do their utmost to make a success of the "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" (Clean India Project) launched by the Government to ensure hygiene, waste management and sanitation across the country.

Swachh Bharat or Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Campaign Clean India) is a national level campaign by the Government of India covering 4041 statutory towns to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country. This campaign was officially launched on 2 October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself wielded broom and cleaned a road.

The launch of the mission comes in the wake of a perception about Indian cities not being very clean. A number of people in rural areas still do not have access to toilets. Some schools in the rural areas also do not have toilets.

According to Census 2011, only 32.70 percent of rural households had access to toilets. According to a UN report released this year, India continues to have the largest number of people in the world defecating in the open.