Sonitpur district administration observes Gandhi Jayanti

OUR CORRESPONDENT

TEZPUR: Along with the rest of the country, Sonitpur district administration also observed the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at a solemn function held at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Sonitpur.

At the very outset, Deputy Commissioner Manvendra Pratap Singh and other senior officials of the district administration offered floral tributes at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi situated at the office premises.

Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Commissioner said that the COVID-19 pandemic had changed a lot of things about the world and it had made people understand the importance of hygiene and cleanliness as advocated by Mahatma Gandhi and urged upon all present to revisit the ideologies of Gandhi and try to adopt them in their lives.

Keynote speaker on the occasion, Head of the Department of Sociology of Tezpur University, Professor Dr Chandan Kumar Sharma, spoke on 'Gandhiji's Hind Swaraj and its contemporary relevance' and dwelt at length on how the ideologies advocated by Mahatma Gandhi were a reflection of the struggles and tribulations he had faced in his lifetime. Prof Sharma spoke about how the thinkers John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy and Henry David Thoreau had influenced Gandhi. Talking about his book Hind Swaraj, Prof Sharma spoke about Gandhiji's views as expressed in the 20-chapter book on a myriad of topics ranging from Swaraj, western civilization, education, among others and his ideologies on society and nation building, self dependence, laying thrust on rural economy, living a minimalist lifestyle, among others. Prof Sharma said Gandhi's concerns as expressed in the book were seen to reverberate across all strata of the society even today, thus proving to be a very relevant text even in the present times.

The event was attended by several senior citizens and distinguished guests of Tezpur.

Sonitpur district administration had organized several competitions in the run-up to Gandhi Jayanti in order to commemorate the 151th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Later in the day, as a gesture of appreciation towards all the sanitary workers and cleaners engaged in various quarantine facilities/ COVID Care Centres across the district, a lunch was arranged for all the workers at a function held at the Mother and Child Hospital at Poruwa. Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Manvendra Pratap Singh expressed his gratitude to all those present for extending their unstinted support to the district administration by keeping the premises of all the facilities clean and fit for use by COVID patients. Joint Director Health Services, Dr J Ahmed, Superintendent of Kanaklata Civil Hospital (KCH), Dr Rini Duarah, doctors and other senior officials of the district administration and NHM were present on the occasion.

On the other hand, Tezpur Municipal Board also carried out an extensive cleanliness drive across Tezpur town with sanitary workers and a team from Radiant Environmental Skills and Solutions and removed six Garbage Vulnerable Points and public bins from Tezpur MB area. A plantation drive at all GVPs and Tezpur MB campus was also carried out on the occasion. Earlier, EO, TMB, Antaripa Daimari offered floral tributes at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi to mark the occasion. 

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