Ministry of Urban Affairs rolls out 'Swachh Amrit Mahotsav'

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) To celebrate eight years of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has officially announced the commencement of 'Swachh Amrit Mahotsav', a fortnight of activities to galvanise action around 'Swachhata' from September 17, Seva Diwas, till October 2, Swachhata Diwas.

The fortnight will focus on mobilising citizen action and commitment towards the vision of building 'Garbage Free Cities'.

The Union Minister has announced the opening of the first ever Indian Swachhata League (ISL), an inter-city competition to take place between the youth of the cities on the September 17.

For the maiden edition of ISL, more than 1,850 city teams from across the country have officially registered to compete. Each team will compete in the League by creating their own unique sanitation initiatives to focus on creating garbage free beaches, hills, and tourist places.

The ISL has attracted a diverse set of Indian cities to take part in the first of its kind League. Cities from diverse geographies and with iconic tourist locations across the length and breadth of the country -- such as Leh, Kanyakumari, Kohima, Dwarka, Konark, Port Blair, Rameswaram, Gaya, Poanta Sahib, Karta, Ujjain, Nashik, Varanasi, Pahalgam -- have registered their teams and appointed team captains for the competition.

As a next step, citizens are invited to join their respective city teams on the official MyGov portal from September 11 onwards.