Empower panchayats to realise Gandhiji's dreams: Maharashtra Governor

Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao on Tuesday called for devolving more powers to the gram sabhas across the country in the spirit of the 73rd constitutional amendment and thus help achieve Mahatma Gandhi's dreams.

Addressing a seminar on 'Gandhian Thoughts' to mark the beginning of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi, the Governor said that "empowering and developing villages alone will stop the exodus of people from rural to urban areas."

Reminding that only a year is left for the 150 birth anniversary celebrations, he appealed to the government, public and private sectors, and academic institutions to give a fresh push to Swachch Bharat Abhiyan in the state to meet the goal of clean and neat India by 2019.

Calling for respecting dignity of labour, Bombay High Court Justice C. Dharmadhikari (retd) said it that is ironical that people who create trash are respected by society while those who toil hard to clean it are looked down upon. He said that the 'charkha' used by Gandhiji to spin khadi symbolised dignity of labour.

He appealed to the people to use two sets of khadi clothes each year as it could provide employment to one crore artisans.

Mani Bhavan President Usha Thakkar said that Gandhiji dared to think and act differently and that his philosophy of non-violence was an instrument to achieve social justice, empowerment of the oppressed sections. He also combined "ethics with politics," she said.

Earlier, Rao offered floral tributes at the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and attended a devotional songs programme 'Bhavanjali' on the occasion.

Among major events to mark Gandhiji's birth anniversary, IIT-Bombay trained 5,700 students from 120 schools to assemble solar study lamps, which will ultimately reach a figure of 125,000 students, said organizer Chetan S. Solanki.

Scientist and ex-Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar said the initiative demonstrates mass empowerment through open source technology in multiple ways.

Western Railway organized a unique thematic painting exhibitions at 12 select stations associated with Gandhiji's life journey -- Mumbai Central, Bhavnagar, Porbander, Limbdi, Wadhwan, Gondal, Vadodara, Nadiad, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Palanpur and Viramgam on its network, said Chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar.

Gandhiji's birthplace, Porbander, got a special makeover, a cleanliness drive, installation of a marble statue, thematic paintings, posters and murals, apart from two life-size portraits of Gandhiji and Kasturba Gandhi at the main entrance, he added.

NGO Voice Against Tobacco organized a special drive on the hazards of tobacco with posters and banner in Mumbai and Thane and urged people to adopt Gandhiji's concept of cleanliness, said its Chairman Umesh Thanawala.

--IANS

qn/tsb/sed