Biggest Swachh Bharat drive spanning 135 cities

Pharmaceutical company Alkem Laboratories undertook a Swachh Bharat campaign across 135 cities in India on Saturday in association with Indian Medical Association. The message of the drive was short and simple, “More than 50 per cent of diseases can be eliminated and health budget saved if one's surroundings are kept clean.

Approximately 20,000 doctors, three lakh citizens and 900 Alkem employees cleaned the streets across the cities. As part of the campaign, the Indian Medical Association also educated over 2.5 lakh doctors about the importance of imparting basic health and hygiene. In Hyderabad, about 1,735 participants cleaned the premises of Fever Hospital.

A recent report by the United Nations mentions that over one lakh people in India die of waterborne diseases annually. One of the major reasons for this is that about 70 per cent of water supply is majorly polluted with sewage effluents. In light of this, it becomes very important to cultivate clean habits amongst people.

Fever Hospital superintendent Dr K Shankar who participated in the cleanliness drive said, “In the last two decades, the number of vehicles plying on the road have increased drastically and there has been a corresponding rise in cases respiratory problems. Statistics show that 24 per cent of the global disease burden can be attributed to environmental factors such as living in an unclean surrounding.

This situation is preventable and the medical fraternity can play a great role in educating the masses about the direct relationship between cleanliness and health.” Speaking about the initiative, Alkem Laboratories Ltd Chronic Team said, “Today is indeed a historical day for everyone at Alkem for having successfully rolled out a clean India campaign at such a large scale as part of their commitment to corporate social responsibility.

We are overwhelmed with the number people who came out on the streets across 135 cities to clean their surroundings and spread the message that only a clean India will deliver a healthy India.”