Meri Mati Mera Desh: Indian Railways run 45 Kalash Yatra special trains

New Delhi [India], November 1 (ANI): Indian Railways is running 45 special trains across the country to facilitate the arrival of participants in New Delhi under the ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’ campaign.

The ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ (MMMD) campaign is to pay tribute to the Army bravehearts who sacrificed their lives for the nation. As part of this initiative, sacred soil and rice were collected from households across the nation and carefully placed in Amrit Kalash containers.

These materials would play a vital role in the creation of the ‘Amrit Vatika’ and the ‘Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ memorials at Kartavyapath, near India Gate in New Delhi.

To facilitate the journeys of the volunteers travelling to Delhi with Kalash having Mitti, from different parts of the country, for the finale event, the Ministry of Railways played an important role in arranging Special Kalash Yatra Trains.

Suitable arrangements were made with regard to reception, felicitation, meet and greet events and ensuring the safety and security of the Volunteers at Railway Premises. The Indian Railways ran 45 Special Kalash Yatra Trains for this event.

‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign included the Amrit Kalash Yatra, which comprises a collection of mitti and rice grains from over 6 lakh villages in rural areas and from wards in urban areas, which is sent to block level (where mitti of all villages in the block is mixed) and then to the state capital.

The mitti from the state level was sent to the national capital, accompanied by thousands of Amrit Kalash Yatris. The finale programme was held on October 31, at Kartavya Path, Delhi.

The Ministry of Railways has been actively associated with all the events organized under ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ (AKAM).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday participated in the event to mark the culmination of the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign’s Amrit Kalash Yatra and said the youth can collectively achieve targets for the country’s progress through synergy in their efforts.

“While we are culminating an event, on the other hand, this is the beginning of the new resolution…In the 21st century, the ‘Mera Bharat Yuva’ organization will play a big role in the development of the country. ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ is an example of how the youth together can achieve every target,” PM Modi said.

The programme also marked the closing ceremony of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Meri Maati Mera Desh campaign comprises many activities and ceremonies conducted across the country at panchayat, village, block, urban, local body, state and national levels.

The activities included the building of Shilaphalakam (Memorial) to express heartfelt gratitude to all the bravehearts who have made the supreme sacrifice, ‘Panch Pran’ pledge taking by the people at Shilaphalakam, planting of saplings of indigenous species and developing ‘Amrit Vatika’ (Vasudha Vandhan) and felicitation ceremonies for honouring the freedom fighters and the families of deceased freedom fighters (Veeron ka Vandan), among others.

The campaign became a massive success, with over 2.3 lakh Shilaphalakams built in 36 states and UTs, nearly 4 crore Panch Pran pledge selfies uploaded, 2 lakh plus ‘Veeron ka Vandan’ programs nationwide, more than 2.36 crore indigenous saplings have been planted and 2.63 lakh Amrit Vatikas created under the Vasudha Vandan theme across the country.

Indian Railways have made a significant contribution to disseminating awareness amongst members of the public about key events held under ‘AKAM’, namely, the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ initiative and ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ and ‘Azadi Ki Rail GadiAur Stations’ through its wide network spread over length and breadth of the country.