MUMBAI: In the presence of 100 icons from different walks of life that have been designated as Swachh Bharat ambassadors, President Pranab Mukherjee raised concern over the poor sanitation conditions in Indian cities. Lyricist and Padma Shri awardee, Prasoon Joshi, and renowned musician and singer Shankar Mahadevan, were among the 100 names selected by Prime Minister, urban development minister and state governments.

The evening also saw a curtain raiser of the Swachh Bharat anthem. The anthem has been penned by lyricist Prasoon Joshi and was unveiled in the presence of Bollywood composer trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The song was performed at the event for attendees by Shankar Mahadevan, and MoS of Urban Development and singer Babul Supriyo.

The chorus of the anthem which goes, ‘Dam Damak Dam Dam Damkega India-Cham Chamak Cham Cham Chamkega India’, was applauded by attendees.

The first anthem of the 'Swachh Bharat' was released on 2 October 2014, along with the launch of the mission. The anthem was penned by Joshi, composed by Vishal Khurana and sung by Kailash Kher.

Mukherjee also addressed various issues around the mission. He stated the need to take action which will help achieve the mission. Apart from that, he also added that the strategies built around the mission should be to engage the country’s icons as Swachh Bharat ambassadors to make it a ‘Jan Andolan’.

The Swachh Bharat Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 October 2014, with the objective of ending open defecation and ensuring door to door collection, transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste by 2019.