Special session of Chhattisgarh assembly on Gandhi Jayanti

A two-day special session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly will be held to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, an official said on Saturday.

Several schemes too would be launched on October 2 to commemorate the event, he said.

"A two-day special session of the Legislative Assembly will be convened from October 2," a government spokesperson said.

An exhibition of memorabilia related to Gandhi's tour of Chhattisgarh (then part of the Central Provinces) and his political and social campaigns will be held on the assembly premises during the session, he said.

The government will also launch Haat-Bazaar Clinic Scheme for public healthcare, Mukhyamantri Suposhan Abhiyan to tackle malnutrition, Chief Minister's Urban Slum Health Scheme and Universal Public Distribution System on October 2, he said.

The Universal PDS scheme aims to cover needy families which are above poverty line, he said.

On October 2, a 'padyatra' (foot march) will be held in the capital Raipur from Jaistambh Chowk to Gandhi Maidan in which about one thousand children, dressed as Gandhi, would take part, he said.

Another foot march will be conducted from Kandel village in Dhamtari District to Raipur. It will start on October 4 and end on October 10. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will participate in this foot march, the official said.

Mahatma Gandhi had visited Raipur and Dhamtari in 1920 to extend support to the 'Nahar Satyagarh' of farmers at Kandel.