Union Minister Kiren Rijiju participates in cleanliness drive in Doon
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 2 Oct: On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju participated in several programmes organised under the Swachh Bharat campaign here today.
To begin with, the Union Minister visited Khadi Village Industry located at Kishannagar Chowk where he spun the charkha. He later reached Nashville Road, to do a field inspection of the Swachhata Seva unit under Swachhata Hi Seva and also honoured the Swachhata Mitras and personnel by giving them certificates.
The main programme was held at Gandhi Park where Rijiju paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi by garlanding his statue. Here, he also participated in the sanitation drive and planted a Rudraksh sapling under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign. He also honoured those who did excellent work in various fields.
Addressing the gathering on this occasion, the Union Minister said that he feels very happy and at home in Uttarakhand which has similarities with his home state, Arunachal Pradesh. The people here show a sense of respect and hospitality which exemplifies the spirit of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’. He also stated that he feels attached to Uttarakhand and has visited many remote areas here.
He referred to Gunji (District Pithoragarh), where he was informed earlier by the local residents that there was no hope of a road coming to the area and that the lack of road access affected tourism and resulted in lot of inconvenience for the locals. Understanding their pain, he apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the problems of the villagers of Gunji area. The PM approved the road, which is now being constructed and is sure to benefit the local people as well as tourists.
Rijiju added that under the guidance and leadership of PM Modi, many public welfare schemes are being run in Uttarakhand today, including the reconstruction of Kedarnath, the work being done under the master plan in Badrinath Dham, the construction work on Delhi-Dehradun Expressway and the Kedarkhand, Manaskhand development schemes besides approval of an amount of Rs 4 crores for development of infrastructure for adventure activities in Tehri Lake.
Rijiju said that he felt satisfied by participating in the cleanliness drive in Dehradun on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti to mark the completion of 10 years of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. He said that 10 years ago when PM Modi had addressed the people from the ramparts of Red Fort, he had stressed on cleanliness and a clean India. Today, Uttarakhand is presenting a great example in the cleanliness campaign.
In his address, the Union Minister also shared the memories of visiting places like Gunji, Harshil, Chakrata, Nabhi, Auli, Niti, Mana, Tehri, etc., and praised the natural beauty of the state. He also called upon the youth to stay fit in life. Movements like Khelo India and Fit India were launched to make people realise the importance of keeping fit.
On this occasion, Cabinet Minister Premchand Agarwal said that the Swachhata Abhiyan started by Prime Minister Modi 10 years ago has become a campaign for every person today. Local MLA Khajan Das also addressed the gathering.
On this occasion, Rajya Sabha MP and State President Mahendra Bhatt, Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal, Cabinet Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, District Magistrate Savin Bansal, SSP Ajai Singh, were also among those present.