New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) Lamenting that India scored poorly in cleanliness, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday said that children needed to be taught hygiene under a new Clean India campaign.
‘I consider it a primary responsibility of all our citizens to maintain cleanliness and hygiene around them,’ the prime minister said in his annual Independence Day speech from the Red Fort.
‘I would like our children to be taught the importance of cleanliness and hygiene in schools from the very beginning under a campaign for a Clean India,’ he said.
He appealed to state governments, Panchayats, civil society groups and common citizens ‘to make this campaign successful’.
‘Nutritious food and good health services are necessary but not enough for ensuring good health of our citizens. We also need cleanliness and good sanitation in our villages, towns and cities,’ he said.
‘There are many diseases which would be difficult to prevent otherwise. The truth is that our country lags behind in this area,’ he said.
