Swachh Bharat Pakhwada, a fortnight cleanliness drive announced by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has elicited a strong response from hotels across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa and the union territories of Daman, Diu and Silvassa. Under this drive, the measures adopted ranged from setting up of long term cleanliness and waste management programmes to short term cleanliness activities within the premises, and initiating cleanliness awareness campaigns.
“The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has always worked hand-in-hand with the government, whether it’s about outlining a plan for tourism-friendly policies or supporting its social welfare campaigns such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. This time again, the association offered its support to Swachh Bharat Pakhwada,” said Bharat Malkani, president, HRAWI.
“The association not only serves the interests of the hotel and restaurant industry by advocating tourism-friendly policies in conjunction with the state and central governments, but also contributes towards community development and society at large time-to-time, by initiating various campaigns actively,” he added.
The Swachh Bharat Pakhwada was launched on June 16, 2016 and included activities such as displaying placards in hotel premises suggesting patrons to keep their surroundings clean, hotel managers having dialogues with customers on the subject, placing stickers outside hotel premises for keeping the area litter-free, discouraging the usage of plastic bags, providing cotton napkins instead of tissue papers wherever possible among others, apart from several other cleanliness practices followed by hotels and restaurants.
“In our industry, cleanliness is not just a practice, but a core value. For our guests, irrespective of the type of accommodation, cleanliness and hygiene are the basic criteria and they won’t return to a property that does not comply with this. As hoteliers, we have decided to take up the cleanliness initiatives very seriously. Although many of the practices are followed on a regular basis, the initiative will certainly revive the intensity of the drive,” commented Malkani.