Delhi LG VK Saxena flags off Amrit Kalash Yatra, administers ‘Panch Pran’ pledge

This garden will act as a shared heritage with soil and saplings from every corner of the country, lieutenant governor VK Saxena said at the Amrit Kalash Yatra function

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant government VK Saxena on Wednesday formally flagged off the Amrit Kalash Yatra from Raj Niwas as a part of the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign.

Delhi bureaucrats with the 11 urns containing soil from 11 Delhi districts at the Raj Niwas function where LG VK Saxena flagged off the Amrit Kalash Yatra

Saxena said 11 urns carrying soil from 11 districts in Delhi will be taken to a place near the National War Memorial, where an “Amrit Vatika” will be developed. This garden will act as a shared heritage with soil and saplings from every corner of the country, the LG said as he flagged off the city’s bureaucrats carrying the urns.

As part of the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign, the ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra’ carrying soil in 7,500 urns from every corner of the country is also expected to reach Delhi. According to PM Narendra Modi, the ‘Amrit Vatika’ will become a grand symbol of ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’.

An official from the LG secretariat said that youth, volunteers and citizens from all corners of the country have collected soil samples from villages “Soil was collected from all parts of the country and the urns with soil were carried to the national capital,” an official said.

LG Saxena said that the campaign was an opportunity to pay respects and express gratitude to the brave men and women who gave up their lives for the country’s independence.

“It allows us to honour freedom fighters, defence personnel, and police officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Their names will be inscribed on the “Shilaphalakam” which will stand as a local tribute in villages and urban areas across our nation,” Saxena said, according to a statement by Raj Niwas.

It said the LG also administered the “Panch Pran” pledge.

The event was also attended by the families and dependents of security personnel who were killed in the line of duty, the statement said.

Last year on August 15, PM Modi asked all citizens to take ‘Panch Pran’ pledge– the goal of a developed India, to remove the mentality of slavery, to be proud of our traditions, to dedicate whole life for unity and integrity, and, to awaken a sense of duty in the mind of every citizen.