Chief minister Hemant Soren joined around 100 other young cyclists to pedal through a short stretch of street in Kanke road on Friday to mark the start of the state-leg of ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’ on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated the mega campaign nationally by flagging off a ‘Padyatra’ from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Gujarat to mark 75 years of India’s Independence.
The Mahotsav, which began 75 weeks prior to this year’s Independence Day will witness a series of events across the country till August 15, 2023.
Jharkhand, too, will be holding an array of activities encompassing different sectors including sports, art and culture, elocution and seminars in memory of freedom fighters and to relive India’s journey towards independence, said officials in the state government.
While flagging off the cycle rally from his official residence in Kanke Road, which was organised by the state sports department, Hemant appealed to young people to play a constructive role towards nation-building.
Participants at the rally included representatives from NSS, colleges, sports associations among others.
The rally began from the CM’s house and traversed through Morabadi, and Bariatu road to culminate at Audrey House, covering a distance of about three kilometers. Besides Hemant, chief secretary Sukhdev Singh, sports secretary Pooja Singhal and other senior bureaucrats were present during the flag-off ceremony.
“I am glad to be part of the 75 years celebration of our country’s Independence. The country that we live in today is a gift given to us by scores of freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for their future generations. We shall always remain indebted to the legendary nation builders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, father of constitution—Dr Bheemrao Ambedkar and the likes,” Hemant said.
“Sons of this soil too like Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Sidho-Kanho, Veer Budhu Bhagat played a huge role in the freedom movement. I bow down to them and appeal to the younger generations to seek inspiration from them to contribute towards nation building,” he added.
On the occasion, the state art and culture department also held a painting competition for school children at Audrey House and began a photo exhibition themed on Jharkhand’s freedom fighters. An official of the state art and culture department at Audrey House said that they are planning more activities in the coming months.
“Today’s events were just the start of nearly a year-long celebration. We are drawing up different plans for celebrations across all the districts,” he said.
Meanwhile, governor Droupadi Murmu too visited Khunti’s Town Hall to inaugurate a five-day photo exhibition centered around the freedom movement.
