Swachh Survekshan 2019: Indore gets 'cleanest city' tag for third time; Bhopal cleanest capital

New Delhi, Mar 06: Indore was on Wednesday awarded as India's cleanest city in the central government's cleanliness survey. With the announcement Indore has now retained the top spot in the survey of being the cleanest city for a consecutive three years.

The second and third positions in the category were grabbed by Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh and Mysore in Karnataka.

The Swachh Survekshan awards 2019 were conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in New Delhi.

While the New Delhi Municipal Council area was given the 'Cleanest Small City' award, Uttarakhand's Gauchar was adjudged the 'Best Ganga Town' in the central government survey.

Top-ranked cities received a statue of Mahatma Gandhi as a memento for their work towards cleanliness. Swachh Survekshan 2019 covered all urban local bodies in the country, making it the largest such cleanliness survey in the world.

"Mahatma Gandhi had played a pivotal role in spearheading the movement of cleanliness. I hope people will take inspiration from the just concluded Kumbh Mela and the level of cleanliness in it," Kovind said.

"There is a need to change the mindset of the people towards cleanliness as many people pay a lot of attention to personal hygiene and cleanliness at home but not to public cleanliness. The culture of cleanliness has to become an integral part of in the lives of the citizens," he added.

The President also said there is a need to include cleanliness in the curriculum of schools and higher educational institutions.

The cleanliness awards are given by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Congratulating Indore, Union Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, "Absolutely Brilliant! Indore is India's Cleanest City for 3rd year running. My heartiest congratulations to the Swachhagrahis of Indore for their unmatched dedication & participation in transforming Swachh Bharat into a Jan Andolan."