GUWAHATI, Oct 2 - The 150th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi was celebrated in a manner befitting the grand occasion by a large number of institutions, departments and organisations throughout the day here on Wednesday.
To commemorate the occasion, and synchronising with the opening ceremony of �Paryatan Parv�, India Tourism Guwahati organised a cycle rally around Dighalipukhuri in association with Assam Tourism. The rally was flagged off by Kamrup Metro DC Biswajit Pegu and Deba Kr Mishra, Director of Tourism, Assam. The rally ended at Kasturba Gandhi Ashram, Sarania. Gandhiji had visited Kasturba Ashram on January 9, 1946 and laid the foundation of the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust there.
India Tourism Guwahati in association with IHM Guwahati also organised an essay competition among IHM students and displayed a film on Gandhi at the IHM campus.
The Father of the Nation was remembered at Assam Jatiya Bidyalay, as well. The programme was organised by the office of the District Legal Services Authority, Kamrup Metro, in collaboration with the school.
The programme started with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp and the garlanding of the portrait of Gandhi by Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Arup Kr Goswami, Justice N Kotiswar Singh along with the Rector of the school RN Deka.
This was followed by presentation of Gandhi�s favourite bhajan Vaishnava Jana by Medha Jyoti Nath of Class IV. The dignitaries were felicitated by the school authorities with gamosa, bouquets of flowers and a silver jubilee souvenir of the school Alok Sandhani.
Justice Aparesh Chakravarty delivered the welcome speech in which he recalled Gandhi�s contribution towards attaining the nation�s freedom. Chief Justice Goswami, Justice Singh and Rector Deka also spoke.
Several schools took part in the programme. Streetplay, nagara naam, drama, group dance, etc, were performed by students of Kamrup Academy HS School, Gopal Boro Govt HS School, Sonaram HS School, and Cotton Collegiate Govt HS School.
A cleanliness drive at Bamunimaidan was initiated by four local residents and teachers � Neelanjana Deka, Deepamoni Bhuyan, Jilmil Das and Sunita Khater � to raise awareness on the benefits of cleanliness.
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and International Non-Violence Day, Royal School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Royal Global University, in collaboration with KVIC, Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium enterprises, Guwahati, organised a seminar on rural industrialisation in the context of Gandhian philosophy and ideology.
Dr Sukamal Deb, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, MSME, NE Zone, was the special invitee for the event along with Dr Razdan Sarim Rahman, Assistant Professor, TISS Guwahati, as the guest speaker and RGU faculties as in-house speakers.
The speakers highlighted Gandhian philosophies, mainly Swaraj to self-rule and Swadeshi for indigenous production. They spoke on Gandhi�s ideology on industrialisation where it was to be a mass production by the people of the nation themselves, focusing on the rural sectors for the resources.
Gandhi Jayanti was also observed at various airports and stations of the Northeast through activities promoting Swachh Bharat, shramdan, tree plantation, and cleaning of airport premises in the vicinity.
The Airports Authority of India invited its housekeeping staff for an informal interaction about the prevailing working conditions, their contribution, motivation, improvement measures, participation of all stakeholders in overall cleanliness level of the airport, etc. While the best worker was felicitated by AAI, all housekeeping staff were handed over a gift hamper each by IndiGo airline in the presence of Sanjeev Jindal, Regional Executive Director, AAI, NER, and Ramesh Kumar, Airport Director, LGBI Airport.
The Assam Real Estate and Infrastructure Developers� Association started a special drive today to distribute 20,000 grocery bags made of jute and cotton free of cost, with the message �Say no to plastics� in various markets of the city.
�We feel that once people start using these convenient biodegradable bags, their habits will change and they will stop using plastic bags in the larger interest of the environment. We call upon the people for mass participation in the movement to eradicate single-use plastics from their lives and make the movement a success,� it said.
In order to spread awareness about the hazards of plastic waste on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Brihattar Kalakshetra Sarbajanin Durga Puja Committee organised �plogging� � a combination of jogging and picking up litter. The plogging covered areas near Kalakshetra.
Brahamaputra Borak Society, Ugratara Devalaya, Save Guwahati Build Guwahati and Kind Human Society jointly celebrated Gandhi Jayanti at Nabagraha Kali Mandir.
NF Railway Construction Organisation organised a cleanliness drive at the Agyathuri Railway station and the Biodiversity Park at Amingaon. NK Prasad, General Manager of NF Railway Construction Organization, took part in the event. Cotton bags were distributed among the people residing near the station and Biodiversity Park.
Gandhi Jayanti was observed at all railway stations and establishments all over the NFR zone. The day started with a pledge on �Swachhata and non-use of single use plastic� administered by Sanjive Roy, General Manager of NFR at Maligaon and by Divisional Railway Managers in respective divisions.
A two-day awareness campaign regarding cleanliness organised by Down Town Hospital coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi ended today. A slogan and poster competition was organised on cleanliness, where doctors, staff and students participated.
The State BJP also marked the occasion in a befitting manner. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal took part in the Gandhi Sankalpa Yatra organised by Assam Pradesh BJP at Bonda here, during which he distributed jute bags among the people.
The APCC organised a padyatra from Rajiv Bhawan to Kasturba Gandhi Ashram. The event was flagged off by former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Party leaders led by APCC chief Ripun Bora participated in the padyatra.
Lions Club of Guwahati City organised a peace rally, where its signature project Sahyog was also involved. It also distributed fruit juice among the poor.
Akhil Bhartiya Terapanth Mahila Mandal organised a weeklong awareness programme on plastic-free India. Guwahati Terapanth Mahila Mandal organised the inaugural programme at Terapanth Dharamsthal, Fancy Bazar. A large number NGOS participated.
The Animal Husbandry and Veterinary department celebrated Gandhi Jayanti with a programme attended by Minister Atul Bora.
