On the auspicious day of Gandhi Jayanti, the birth anniversary of ‘Father of the Nation’ Mahatma Gandhi, Fit India Mission organised Freedom Run 6.0 across the sub-continent to end single-plastic use and encourage citizens to keep all public places litter free.

The iconic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium took the lead with individuals, officers from the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS) taking part in a Plog run, that combines picking up litter along with a short run, early morning. Leading the cleanliness drive was Shri Hari Ranjan Rao, Secretary Sports, MYAS, also the Chief Guest of the initiative along with the Plog Man of India, Sh. Ripu Daman, as the Guest of Honour.

With the tag line, ‘Swacchhta se Swasthya ki or’ meaning ‘On the way to good health through cleanliness’, the Fit India Freedom Run was also graced by Shri Kunal, Joint Secretary (Sports), MYAS & Shri Mayank Srivastava, Deputy Director General, Sports Authority of India (SAI). SundaysOnCycle partners Yogasana Bharat & MY Bharat also joined the event with full vigour.

A street play was also organised to encourage citizens to adopt hygienic behaviour and avoid single use plastic in daily life. Beginning on October 2, the month-long cleanliness drive will culminate on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, on October 31.

Talking about the initiative, Shri Hari Ranjan Rao said: “It was pleasing to see Delhiites of all age groups participating in the plog run. If all citizens keep public places litter free and avoid single-use plastic in their daily lives, only then we can achieve our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ultimate aim of Viksit Bharat. The onus lies on all of us to keep our city, our neighbourhood neat and clean as it will help us remain fit and healthy, the key objectives of the Fit India mission.”

Echoing the sentiments, Shri Ripu Daman said: “I have been part of the Fit India movement from the time it was launched in 2019 by our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. Indians have a bad habit of just cleaning their homes but not their surroundings, their neighbourhood. This initiative is symbolic of the dirt, the litter in our mind. Only when we keep our area clean, we can keep ourselves healthy. Every citizen should participate in an initiative like this.”

The ‘Fit India Freedom Run 6.0’ is organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), in collaboration with Fitspire, RED FM and Rapido. The plogging drive is organised simultaneously in capitals of all States and Union Territories besides SAI Regional Centres across various age groups.

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Rini Choudhury/Anjelina Alexander

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