Environment labs will be set up in schools: Vijay Rupani

The CM was addressing an all-religion prayer meeting organised at Kirti Mandir in Porbandar to mark the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

To integrate value education with environment protection and to sensitise students about it, environment labs would be set up in state schools, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Wednesday.

“Subject of environment will be integrated with moral values of Gandhi’s life in all schools of the state and environment labs will be set up in all the primary schools of the state so that environment protection becomes a samskar (ritual) for students,” an official release from the state information department quoted Rupani as saying.

The CM was addressing an all-religion prayer meeting organised at Kirti Mandir in Porbandar to mark the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Kirti Mandir is the birthplace of Gandhi. Rupani said that the state government planted 1.5 crore trees in the state under ek balak, ek vruksha (one tree per child) campaign to protect the environment.

The CM also emphasised Gandhi’s insistence on cleanliness. “The true tribute to Gandhi Bapu, the Father of the Nation, would be to move beyond Bapu’s ideals of ahimsa (non-violence) and aparigrah (non-hoarding) and insist on cleanliness and become swachhagrahi,” the official release further quoted the CM.

Rupani said that plastic was the enemy of the environment and observed that tackling the menace was a collective responsibility. “By rejecting single-use plastic, we shall be able to protect the nature, environment and entire globe while also achieving sustainable environment,” said the CM. He also said that the government had made special efforts to create a Gandhi tourism circuit, connecting Gandhian places like Dandi, Sabarmati Ashram, Gandhi’s school in Rajkot and Kirti Mandir. This circuit, Rupani said, would help in spreading Gandhi’s life message and values in the world. Rupani also visited the room in Kirti Mandir in which Gandhi was born in 1869 and offered floral tribute to oil paintings of Gandhi and Kasturba.

The CM also took part in a cleanliness drive under the Swachchhta hi Seva campaign at Chowpaty beach in Porbandar and appealed to the people of Gujarat to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign against single-use plastics. Tourism and Fisheries Minister Jawahar Chavda, Porbandar MLA Babu Bokhiria and local BJP leaders joined Rupani. The CM also led the gathering on the beach to take oath of not using single-use plastic items and maintain cleanliness at home and public places.

The CM also dedicated to public Asmavati riverfront in Porbandar and said the government was committed to provide basic physical infrastructure in towns and cities.

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