Kovind hails Bachchan for his role towards making India open defecation-free

Mumbai: Hailing Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan for his contribution towards making the country open defecation-free (ODF), President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday said the television commercials featuring the actor had inspired crores of people.

"We keep watching the advertisements of famous actor Amitabh Bachchanji on TV. There are two-three of such advertisements -- one of the concepts being 'Darwaja band to bimari band'.

"Earlier also, we used to think that if we opened the (toilet) door, the diseases would spread. It was a scientific thought," the president told a function organised here to declare urban Maharashtra ODF.

"The famous actor is doing these advertisements for free.

Of all the stakeholders, who have been felicitated on Sunday for achieving the ODF status and who are working in that direction, Amitabh Bachchan's contribution to the cause is no less. I want to congratulate him as well. Crores of people must have been inspired by his advertisements," he added.

The Bollywood superstar was not present on the occasion. Kovind said the mindset of the women in the rural areas on Sunday was such that they refused to get married if their in- laws' house did not have a toilet and those married refused to go back to their in-laws' house if there was no toilet. "This thought is an example of a new India," he added.

"During the Independence movement, wherever (Mahatma) Gandhiji stayed, he used to clean the toilet there himself," the president said.

"Another mindset needs to be developed...whether it is an individual toilet or a public toilet, we should remember to keep it clean after using. Many a times, people refrain from using a public toilet thinking that it is in such a bad state that they would fall ill if they use it," he added. Kovind said he was immensely satisfied to see a recent news report about a tribal woman in Chhattisgarh digging a six-foot pit for her daughters, without waiting for the government to build a toilet.