The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have joined the nationwide Swachhata Hi Seva – 2025 campaign with simultaneous launches by civic bodies and rural development institutions. The fortnight-long initiative, running from September 17 to October 2, is being observed with pledges, cleanliness drives, sapling plantation and community engagement programmes aimed at building a cleaner and more sustainable environment.
In Sri Vijaya Puram, the Municipal Council inaugurated the campaign with a public event held in front of the National Memorial Cellular Jail. The programme commenced with the administration of the Swachhata Pledge by Chairperson Shahul Hameed, reaffirming the city’s collective commitment to hygiene and sanitation. Senior officials including Secretary (UD) Neeraj Bharti, Secretary SVPMC Azharuddin Zahiruddin Quazi, and Senior Vice Chairperson D. Radhika were present, along with councillors, staff, and members of the public.
A signature campaign was launched alongside the inaugural event, encouraging citizens to declare their commitment to keeping the city clean. To highlight the environmental dimension of the drive, dignitaries planted saplings at Veer Savarkar Park under the national initiative ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam,’ symbolizing the vital role of trees in ecological preservation. The launch also featured a mass cleanliness drive from Clock Tower to Cellular Jail, visibly demonstrating the resolve of civic leaders and residents to lead by example in maintaining public spaces.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Rural Development, PRIs and ULBs initiated the state-level launch at Gram Panchayat Beodnabad. The programme began with the Swachhata pledge administered by Director Apurva Sharma, who urged citizens to dedicate at least two hours per week, adding up to 100 hours annually, to cleanliness activities. This call emphasized the importance of sustained individual effort as the foundation for collective change.
Following the pledge, a cleanliness drive was conducted in and around the Panchayat Bhawan premises with the participation of Directorate staff, block-level officials, panchayat members and local villagers. The drive saw enthusiastic involvement, highlighting the growing civic consciousness among rural communities. Officials underscored that the programme will be mirrored at block and gram panchayat levels across the islands to ensure widespread public participation and long-term behavioral change.
The two launches, though distinct in location and scope, reflect a shared purpose: integrating urban and rural communities into the nationwide movement for cleanliness. While the Municipal Council’s initiative emphasized public symbolism with sapling plantation and high-visibility clean-up drives in iconic city spaces, the RD, PRIs & ULBs’ launch embedded the campaign in village-level activities, reinforcing community ownership of public hygiene.
Organizers have lined up a series of activities for the fortnight, ranging from awareness drives and school-based events to hands-on clean-up operations in public areas. Both institutions have appealed to citizens to cooperate with Safai Mitras by segregating household waste and handing it over properly, instead of discarding it in the open. Officials have reiterated that cleanliness is not merely an administrative responsibility but a collective duty that requires community participation.
The Swachhata Hi Seva campaign is also being observed as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of sanitation as integral to true freedom. The fortnight will culminate on Gandhi Jayanti, aligning the message of cleanliness with the values of health, dignity and civic pride. The symbolism is especially strong in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where the Cellular Jail stands as a national memorial to the freedom struggle and now doubles as the venue for pledges to build a cleaner future.
As the campaign continues across the Union Territory, authorities expect that the integration of civic bodies, rural institutions, schools and citizens will translate into lasting change. The Administration has stressed that the fortnight is not a symbolic exercise but part of a sustained effort to create a cleaner and greener Andaman, ensuring that public spaces, rural hamlets, and urban neighborhoods alike embody the spirit of Swachhata Hi Seva – 2025.
