The message behind the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign may be huge, but Prakash Vaithyanathan, a science teacher, is attempting to capture it all in a stamp.
This Adyar resident, who has been a cleanliness crusader for some years, has decided to design a stamp to reach out to more people.
“I chose to design the stamp with the charming Taj Mahal and ‘Swachh Bharat’ written in the tri-colour backdrop. Stamps are an easy way to constantly remind people of their duty towards keeping the environment clean,” said Mr. Vaithyanathan.
He had a small collection published under the ‘My Stamp’ scheme.
“I have requested postal officials and the Central government to bring out stamps to carry the campaign forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, the department of posts too is considering introducing slogans in electronic franking impressions of stamps.
Mervin Alexander, postmaster general (Chennai city region), said, “Electronic franking is used for bulk dispatch of letters. We are considering printing slogans on clean environment.”
On suggestions to release stamps with social messages, he said, every year, 40 commemorative stamps are released. A philatelic advisory committee decides the themes for postage stamps of various denominations. “We will scrutinise the requests,” he said.
