Guwahati: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today inaugurated the Clean, Green and Fit Village campaign initiated by MyGov Assam in association with ONGC and Assam Volleyball at Guwahati Volleyball Training Centre at Judges’ Field in the city.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister urged the people of the state to make the campaign successful so that Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a clean and green India could be realised in its true spirit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in his very first Independence Day speech in 2014 to make India clean and green by 2019 synchronising with 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi ji and it turned into a mass movement, he stated.
Highlighting Prime Minister’s campaigns such as say no to plastic, Fit India Movement, Jal Jeevan Mission for water conservation, International Yoga Day etc, Sonowal said that Prime Minister Modi had been making efforts to bring holistic development to the lives of the people of the country through both mental and physical fitness. Saying that cleanliness is next to godliness, he elaborated on the importance of maintaining cleanliness and protecting the environment through sincere efforts.
It is to be mentioned that while the Clean and Green Village initiative of MyGov Assam was being successfully implemented with the support of various NGOs, the concept of Fit Village has been newly introduced where the children from the villages are encouraged to play volleyball and stay fit.
Initially, 115 villages in the state have been selected for the campaign where ONGC, as part of its CSR initiative, would provide 115 volleyballs with nets, 100 jute bags and 5 bamboo dustbins per village where the single-use plastic would be kept. The youth apart from playing volleyball would also take part in picking up single-use plastic items in their villages which would be later collected and sent for recycling.
Referring to Prime Minister Modi’s emphasis on sports as reflected by the tagline ‘kheloge toh khiloge’, Sonowal urged the players to strive hard and bring laurels to the nation as sports could unify people cutting across social divides. Dr Bhupen Hazarika also said through his songs that the whole world was a playground and youth must take up sports as a way of life for achieving their full potential, he said.
Saying that there was no alternative to hard work and dedication to achieve success in life, the chief minister asserted that success of country’s players in international sporting events such as Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games etc bring tremendous joy and pride to the people across the nation. He also appreciated ONGC for coming forward to support the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Fit India Movement and urged the Maharatna PSU to continue its endeavour towards this end.
Former captain of India’s national volleyball team Abhijeet Bhattacharya thanked the Assam Government for entrusting Assam Volleyball for the campaign and he committed to producing quality players from the state through Mission 100 mission of the association.
Executive Director of ONGC Assam Asset, Nazira Sanjeev Kakran gave the welcome address at the programme which was attended by MLAs Rituparna Barua, Bimal Bora among others.
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