PM to inaugurate activities related to 75th I-Day celebrations tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday inaugurate the 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' event by flagging off a 241-mile march from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Gujarat's Navsari district to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence, Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said Thursday.

Addressing the media, the culture and tourism minister said the government has decided to organise a series of events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence as 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' from March 12, 2021, to August 15, 2022.

States and Union Territories will also organize programmes on Friday, he said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' and flag-off the march from Sabarmati Ashram tomorrow.

"The 25-day march will cover 241 miles from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsari, and will end on April 5. Eighty-one people will participate in the padyatra and different groups of people will be joining it on the way to Dandi.

"I will lead the first lap of 75 kilometers till Nadiad," Patel said.

Explaining the significance of choosing March 12 for the padyatra, the minister said it was on this day in 1930 that Mahatma Gandhi took out the famous Dandi march along with 81 people to break the law imposing tax on salt.

The government has decided to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence as 'Amrut Mahotsav'. Weekly events will be organized during the next 75 weeks till August 15 next year.

Every week, an event will be held. To ensure involvement of all citizens in this mahotsav, various programmes will be organised with the culture ministry in supporting role, Patel said.