NEW DELHI, Oct 25 : Delhi’s Education Minister Ashish Sood on Saturday launched the “Jal Sangam se Jan Sangam — The Festival of Unity” campaign at the Sonia Vihar Yamuna ghat to mark Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 150th birth anniversary.
The campaign organised under the larger initiative — “Sardar @150” — aims to spread the message of national unity and people’s participation by connecting students with the ideals of the country’s first deputy prime minister, according to a statement.
Under the initiative, water from the Yamuna river will be carried to 25 rivers across the country — from Kashmir to Kanyakumari — symbolising cultural and emotional unity, the statement said.
The waters from these rivers will later be brought back to Delhi for a “Jal Abhishek” ceremony at Patel’s statue at Patel Chowk on October 31.
Speaking at the event, Sood said Patel played a crucial role in uniting 562 princely states after the independence, turning the vision of a united India into reality.
“Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have shown a similar determination by abrogating Article 370 (of the Constitution), uniting both the geography and the heart of India,” he said.
Sood added that the spirit of “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” envisioned by Patel is being realised through Modi’s “Viksit Bharat @2047” vision.
Emphasising the role of education, he said students are not only studying in classrooms but also learning the art of nation building.
“We want every child to say, ‘I have not come just to study, I have come to build the nation’,” Sood said.
Around 150 students and teachers from schools run by the Delhi government took part in the event, collecting water from the Yamuna for the campaign, the statement said.
The programme concluded with a “Maa Yamuna Aarti” and a pledge for river conservation and national unity, it added. (PTI)
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