Bharti Foundation announces initiative to improve rural household sanitation facilities in Punjab

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to the corporate sector in his Independence Day speech to strengthen government’s initiative on this score, the Foundation has decided to adopt the Ludhiana District – home district of the Founders - as its focus area for improvement of rural sanitation. 

 

As part of this programme, the Foundation will invest upto Rs 100 crores in constructing toilets while reaching out to every rural household lacking such facilities in the District, over the next three years.

 

In addition to rural household sanitation, the ‘Satya Bharti Abhiyan’ will also invest in improving sanitation facilities in government schools in rural Ludhiana by building new toilets for girls, where no such facilities exist. 

 

Lack of proper sanitation facilities, particularly for girls in rural schools has been an important factor leading to large scale drop outs, thereby negating the substantial improvement in enrolment that the country has achieved in recent years. These initiatives will be supported by the two group companies – Bharti Airtel Limited and Bharti Infratel Limited.

 

Commenting on the initiative, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Foundation, said, “Lack of private sanitation facilities in rural households not only constitutes a major cause of embarrassment for the women, but also points to a much wider problem of rural hygiene and cleanliness. ‘Satya Bharti Abhiyan’ will help cover a long felt gap in rural hygiene infrastructure in Punjab, besides contributing to the larger National Mission of ‘Swachh Bharat’ in its own limited way. It is our commitment that no single household or school in rural Ludhiana will be without a toilet by the end of this tenure.”

 

Bharti Foundation provides free education to underprivileged children in rural areas. Its Programs (Satya Bharti Schools, Satya Bharti Learning Centres, Quality Support Program) presently reach out to over 52,000 children from socially and economically challenged backgrounds, with special focus on the girl child. 

 

Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Co-Chairman, Bharti Foundation, said “Improvement in private rural sanitation facilities will have a positive impact on public health in the long run. Separate toilet facilities for girls in village schools can bring down dropout rates drastically to help leverage the current rural school infrastructure better. Hailing from Ludhiana, we are extremely delighted to be contributing towards such an important cause having direct implication on the quality of life in rural areas of the district. I will be personally involved in monitoring the progress of the Programme.”