The Swachh Bharat campaign has moved beyond India’s mainland to 12,000 km south, with the winter teams at the Maitri and Bharati stations in Antarctica undertaking a cleanliness and space-optimisation drive even in the extreme environment.
The winter team at Bharati Station includes three Indian women, comprising two scientists and one medical doctor. The winter crew took over after the summer component wrapped up major operations and projects, including cargo delivery, an international scientific collaboration with UAE scientists from Khalifa University, and the deployment of oceanographic floats. The main building offers a regulated power supply, automated heating with hot and cold running water, incinerator toilets, cold storage, a PA system, living, dining and lounge facilities, and containerised laboratory space.
The present temperature in Antarctica is around -48 degrees Celsius.
“Under the Special Campaign for Disposal of Pending Matters (SCDPM) 6 (Special Campaign 6), the Indian winter team of the 45th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ISEA) undertook a cleanliness and space-optimisation drive at Maitri and Bharati stations,” the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) posted on X. NCPOR added that, “even in Antarctica’s extreme environment, the commitment to cleaner, organised and better-maintained workplaces remains unwavering”.
