As a part of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the ‘Swasth Bharat Yatra’ arrived in Gujarat at Dandi in South Gujarat on 12th November, 2018 and will pass through 12 districts to enter Palanpur in North Gujarat on 12th December, 2018.
A cyclothon has been organised under the umbrella of ‘Eat Right India’ throughout the country from today. Addressing a press conference, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare Mr. Poonamchand Parmar said, ‘Taking lessons from the life of Mahatma Gandhi and inspiration from Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, the Swasth Bharat Yatra will spread awareness regarding Swasth Bharat (Clean India) and Eat Right in Gujarat for a period of 24 days’. The yatra will cover Dandi, Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch, Godhra, Santrampur, Balasinhor, Nadiad, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Palanpur in Banaskantha and will then enter Rajasthan. The yatra will re-enter Delhi on 27th January, 2019 after a nationwide tour.
A cycle yatra from 16th November, 2018 to 27th January, 2019 will take place under the Eat Right India in order to spread awareness about cleanliness, food and hygiene by the Food Safety Standard Authority of India as a part of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Chief Minister Mr. Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Nitin Patel, Minister of Health, Chief Secretary and various other senior officials will be present during the program.
Adding more details, ACS Mr. Parmar said, ‘Reputed people from various sections of the society such as NCC cadets will cycle from one district to another and spread awareness about the “Eat Right India”. There will also be cultural evening, audio-video telecast, food street etc. once the tour of the 12 districts is over. All the cyclists will be welcomed and honoured in each district. Upon heading towards the next district, the people will also receive a flag-off farewell. The entire cycle yatra will be organized with a close co-ordination of the District Collector, Health Officer, Gazetted officers for the Food and Drugs department, ICDS and the Mid-Day Meal scheme.
A Swasth Bharat Mela will be held at Kankaria in Ahmedabad at 5:00 pm on 05th December, 2018 when this cycle yatra enters Ahmedabad. As many as 5000 people will be present during the same and they will be educated on the ways of preventing non-communicable diseases through audio and video. Health and nutrition experts will also deliver a talk on the importance of a healthy and a balanced diet. A number of experts will deliver a speech on topics such as Clean Street Food hub, food adulteration, RUCO etc.
The Indian Medical Association will give guidelines in Gujarat for ensuring fortified food, combating the deficiency of micro-nutrients in food, malnutrition etc. Moreover, a number of NGOs will provide their services to ensure that there is no wastage of food during marriage, at hotels, local fairs, etc. and ensure that the leftover food which is fit for eating reaches to the poor.
