'Cleanliness is more important than Independence' said Bapu, the Father of the nation. Inspired by a personal letter written by Prime Minister Modi inviting him to lend his support to the Swachhata Hi Seva Pan India Campaign,, Dr. P.Raghu Ram, a Padma Shri awardee & Director, KIMS-USHALAKSHMI Centre for Breast Diseases based out of Hyderabad has today spearheaded a ‘cleanliness drive’  in his adopted Village, Ibrahimpur, the remotest village in Medak District in Telangana on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti.
  
The Cleanliness drive in Ibrahimpur was conducted near the Gandhi Statue, Water tank and at the Pochamma Temple areas throughout the morning. Starting with garlanding Bapu's Statue in the heart of the Village, Dr. Raghu Ram participated in cleaning up rubbish in three separate areas in the Village ensuring all the waste reaches the Village Dump yard in a newly commissioned battery operated Sanitation van. Then along with Village Residents, he planted trees in the cleaned up waste land, thus helping in 'Swachhata Hi Seva' Campaign in addition to contributing Green cover in the piece of land that was dysfunctional...
 
Whilst addressing the residents in the Village, Dr. Raghu Ram emphasized that as Citizens of this great nation, it is important to rise up to the clarion call given by the Prime Minister and ensure that our surroundings are kept clean. He also echoed PM Modi’s views that ‘coming together for cleanliness would be a fitting tribute to Bapu and working for a New India’. 
  
Around 30% of the rural people across the Country do not have safe access to the toilets and use open defecation system in the fields. There are 265 homes in Ibrahimpur and Mr. P. Yella Reddy, Village Sarpanch ensured that there was a huge turn out to ensure Prime Minister’s pet campaign gets maximum inspiration and impact. 
 
Dr. Raghu Ram paid rich tributes to Mr Harish Rao, Hon'ble Cabinet Minister, Govt. of Telangana for implementing many innovative initiatives in the Village over the past few years making it a model Indian Village. He appreciated the Village Sarpanch for having achieved the distinction of ensuring Ibrahimpur becomes a 100% open defecation free Village.  Dr. Raghu Ram also underlined the fact that in order to ensure the hygiene all over the country, it is very necessary to solve the problems of sanitation, safe toilet, and proper waste management.
 
Swachh Bharat campaign was officially launched by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on 145thbirth anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd of October in 2014  & the ongoing Pan India mission is to ensure a Clean India by 2 October 2019 coinciding with the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.