New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an ambitious programme called the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva Movement’. As part of an elaborate launch event for this fortnight-long Union government programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun interacting with a cross-section of people from 18 locations across the country, via video conferencing.

The people with whom the premier interacted included school children, soldiers, spiritual leaders, members of milk and agricultural cooperatives, media persons, local government representatives, railway employees, self-help groups, and swachhagrahis (volunteers for the cleanliness drive), among others.

Among the celebrities, the Prime Minister talked to superstar Amitabh Bachchan, industrialist Ratan Tata, preachers Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Maa Amritanandamayi.

The Swachhata Hi Seva 'movement', which aims at generating greater public participation towards cleanliness, is being organised in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission, on October 2, which will also mark the commencement of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Earlier, describing this movement as “a great way to pay tributes to Bapu,” the Prime Minister, in a video message to the people, had exhorted people to be “part of this movement and strengthen the efforts to create a Swachh Bharat.”

Marking the start of the programme, the Prime Minister called for rededicating the people of the nation towards fulfilling Gandhi's dream of a clean India.

People from different walks of life across the country are joining the programme. The Prime Minister said that swachhata had become a mass movement in the last four years: “Nearly 9 crore toilets have been constructed in the last four years, around 4.5 lakh villages, 450 districts and 20 States and Union Territories have been declared ODF.”