Kottayam: N S Rajappan's work got his due recognition on Sunday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his "Mann Ki Baat" programme hailed his commitment towards cleanliness.

It was just days ago former United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) chief Erik Solheim shared a small video on paralysis-hit N S Rajappan collecting plastic waste from Kerala's scenic Vembanad Lake despite his disability and said he should be made famous. And Rajappan got the recognition when Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his "Mann Ki Baat" programme on Sunday hailed his commitment towards cleanliness, saying all should emulate him and make contributions wherever possible. Sitting in his small country boat in the lake in Kumarakom near here, the elderly mansaid he was "very happy" as the prime minister himself acknowledged his efforts.

Solheim in a tweet on January 14 had praised the fabulous efforts of Rajappan to clean up the backwaters, beauty of which attracts tourists from all across the world

"In Kottayam of Kerala there is an elderly divyang, N S Rajappan Sahab. Due to paralysis, Rajappan is incapable of walking, but this has not affected his commitment to cleanliness," the prime minister said. Noting that the past several years Rajappan has been rowing his boat into the Vembanad Lake and taking out the plastic bottles thrown into the water body, Modi said, "Think, how great Rajappanjis thought is!

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