DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa on Saturday said that a state-level Swachh Bharat Diwas will be celebrated on October 2 at Hoshiarpur. On this occasion, 23 panchayats of the state will be honoured with Rs 1 lakh each for proper maintenance of solid and liquid waste. Likewise, three other panchayats will also be encouraged by giving cash price of Rs 10,000 to each panchayats. Apart from this, the best performing officers will also be honored. During this time, nukkad nataks, short films and other performances related to cleanliness will be the center of special attraction, the Minister further said. Disclosing further, the Cabinet Minister said that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is working diligently in supplying clean and potable water to the villages across the state. Similarly, the state has also lauded at the national level for the maintenance and management of solid and liquid waste in the villages. He said that at present, clean water is being provided to all 8292 villages in 15 districts of the state including Hoshiarpur, Malerkotla, Faridkot, Jalandhar, Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, SAS Nagar, Kapurthala, Mansa, Ludhiana, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Patiala and SB Nagar. These 15 districts will also be honoured during the function. The Water Supply and Sanitation Minister further said that Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (Phase-II) has been launched in the state. Under this mission, proper arrangements for solid and liquid waste management would be made in all the villages of the state. Jimpa said that efforts have been intensified to declare every village Open Defecation Free (ODF) by March 2025. Pertinently, from September 15 to October 2, myriad of activities under special campaign will be organised by the government to spread awareness on the subject of garbage cleaning and waste management in the villages. Meanwhile, Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Brahm Shanker Jimpa will be the chief guest while Deputy Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Jai Krishan Singh Rori will be the special guest on the occasion. (editor@dailyworld.in)