ITANAGAR, Oct 2 - Coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu today launched the �Hamara Arunachal Abhiyan (HAA)�, an initiative to involve the community in managing law and order, by unveiling the HAA campaign logo in a public event at the Indira Gandhi Park here.
On the occasion, Khandu administered a pledge to the massive gathering of people comprising representatives of different CBOs, NGOs, government bodies, students� community and various civil society organisations, towards making Arunachal a better place to live in.
The pledge was to become a responsible citizen, act as citizen police to maintain law and order, upkeep social harmony and peace, and strive for a clean, green and plastic-free environment. It also vowed to restore Arunachal�s crowning glory and make it an �island of peace�.
The Chief Minister, in his address, said the HAA has been launched to give a thrust to the �Team Arunachal� campaign. He said Arunachal is a challenging State in terms of cultural diversity. The Government and the people must play a proactive part together to bring the feeling of oneness among the Arunachalis.
Stating that efforts were on include all tribal communities in governance, Khandu said there are certain �bad elements� who are trying to derail the unity and peace in the State.
The Chief Minister further said any breakdown in law and order discourages investment, saying investment is vital for economic development of the State. To maintain law and order, people need to be made equal participants, he asserted.
The Chief Minister said the HAA would continue up to the year 2024 �without use of a single penny from the government exchequer�. He added that fund for the campaign would be sourced from the corporate sector. �We will review the success of HAA every year,� he added
The Chief Minister suggested that the HAA campaign should reach out to the people on issues such as language preservation and promotion, drug awareness, prevention of the money culture in elections, etc.
�Hamara Arunachal Abhiyan with the hashtag �Chalo Banaye Behtar Arunachal� is a people�s campaign which is to be carried, executed and managed by the people and for the people to transform Arunachal as a safe, secure and serene place to live in,� Home Minister Bamang Felix said.
�It will include many sub-campaigns against evils plaguing our society like domestic violence, child labour, drug abuse, etc., besides managing traffic and law and order through citizen-police partnership,� Felix said.
Earlier, the Chief Minister released Picture Gandhi, a bestselling children�s book on Mahatma Gandhi, which has been translated into five local dialects of Arunachal � Adi, Apatani, Mishmi, Nyishi and Nocte � and in the Bodo language of Assam. The book is originally written in English by award-winning author Sandhya Rao. Khandu felicitated the six translators from the six different tribes of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
With an aim to sensitize young minds about energy sustainability and environment care, the Chief Minister also launched a solar mission and administered a pledge to students from various schools to play the role of �student solar ambassadors�. He also administered a pledge on Swachhta Hi Seva on the occasion.
