Bihar, March 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Motihari on April 10 to take part in the concluding ceremony of Champaran Satyagraha centenary celebrations, a district official has said. Modi will address around 20,000 Swachhagrahis (ambassadors of cleanliness movement) - 10,000 from Bihar and the rest from other states - at Gandhi Maidan here on the occasion, East Champaran District Magistrate Raman Kumar told reporters yesterday.

The Bihar government had in April 2017 launched year-long celebrations to mark the centenary of Champaran Satyagraha movement of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi had launched his first agitation against the British rule here by protesting against the indigo cultivation order on farmers in 1917.

"The Prime Minister's message to Swachhagrahis will be a true tribute to Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) from the land of Champaran, especially on the occasion of the concluding ceremony of Satyagraha centenary celebrations," Kumar said. All chief ministers and senior officials have been invited to the function. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union minister Radha Mohan Singh and other dignitaries are also set to attend the ceremony, he asserted.

"A tent city is being erected to accommodate the Swachhagrahis from other states. It will have boarding and toilet facilities. This is the first time a programme of such a huge magnitude is being organized in a small town (like Motihari)," he explained. The DM also said that efforts are on to make the district open-defecation free (ODF) by April 10. "More than 55 percent households in East Champaran have been declared ODF to date. The district officials are making efforts to achieve cent per cent ODF status by April 10," Kumar added.