130 lakh train tickets to convey cleanliness campaign

Railways, the nation's lifeline, will carry forward the 'Clean India' campaign with special messages on keeping its premises clean on 130 lakh (13 million) train tickets and coaches.

Besides the messages in English and regional languages on the tickets, exterior and interior of coaches of a few long-distance trains will be utilised for spreading the awareness campaign across the country.

The campaign will come at a cost as railways will charge Rs 1.50 per ticket to the Tourism Ministry, the sponsor of the Clean India project.

The cleanliness campaign is part of the Clean India project launched by the Tourism Ministry to keep tourist spots and public places hygienic and free of garbage.

"We have joined hands with the Tourism Ministry to keep trains, waiting halls, surrounding of stations garbage-free and environment friendly," said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the campaign.

To begin with, railways have identified nine zones -- Northern, Eastern, Western, Central, South Eastern, East Central, North Central and South Western Railway --

to start the campaign.

"Now all train tickets in nine zones will be carrying messages in various languages including English, Hindi, Kannad and Bengali to spread awareness about cleanliness among rail users," said the official, adding, "total 130 lakh tickets will be carrying Clean India logo and messages in the first phase."

With nine zones, railways have covered states like West Bengal, Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir.

Railways will sign a memorandum of understanding with Tourism Ministry shortly to finalise the action plan for cleanliness campaign involving train tickets, stations and trains across the country.

"We will use vinyl wrapping method to display pictorial messages of Clean India campaign on the exteriors of coaches," said the official.