Dabbawalas feel honoured to join Swachh Bharat drive

Say they will leave no stone unturned to make Modi’s dream of a Clean India come true

December 25, 2014 05:03 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 05:55 pm IST - Mumbai

"Till now, only the big and famous people were appointed ambassadors. This is the first time the labour class has been nominated to be the ambassador of Swatchh Bharat abhiyaan . And we feel honoured by the announcement made by Modiji. We thank him for this," the Mumbai dabbawalas said here on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, announced nine new brand ambassadors for Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan in Varanasi.

The 5000 dabbawalas of Mumbai, who have become world-famous for their efficiency and co-ordination, were one of them.

Soon after the news reached Mumbai, they rejoiced and celebrated by distributing sweets. They also took up a cleanliness drive.

"We are very happy. But we also know that this is huge responsibility. We will do everything possible to make this work," Subhash Talekar, spokesperson of Mumbai Dabbawala Association, said.

The dabbawalas cater to nearly two lakh people in the city every day. Their network penetrates the by-lanes of the obscure suburbs of the vast island city.

"We will spread Modiji's message in every house, every lane, every office of the city which we visit each day," Mr. Talekar said.

The dabbawalas will kickstart a massive cleanliness campaign on Friday at Lower Parel.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.