Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is holding several events under the aegis of ‘Meri Mitti, Mera Desh’ programme in the extreme Left Wing Extremism (LWE) or Naxal-affected districts of Chhattisgarh, honouring freedom fighters along with the families of the heroes who laid down their lives for the security of the country.
ITBP has been conducting several public awareness programmes in Rajnandgaon, Mohla-Manpur-Chowki, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts of Chhattisgarh for the last few days and this process is still continuing.
Under ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’ programmes scheduled from August 9 to August 30, people of the areas are taking the oath of ‘Panch Pran’ at Gram Panchayats in local schools and villages, and singing the national anthem with the national flag, organising public awareness rallies, and holding special tree plantation campaigns, said the ITBP.
Along with this, the force said, the freedom fighters and the families of the heroes who laid down their lives for the security of the country are being honoured by the battalions of the ITBP.
“The final programme of the ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’ programme will be organised by the Ministry of Culture at the national level proposed at the Kartavya path in New Delhi at the end of this month,” said the ITBP, one of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) under Ministry of Home Affairs which is mainly responsible to guard India-China border as well as Naxal-hit areas.
For this, the ITBP said, soil will be collected from the gram panchayats and sent to New Delhi. Also, some representatives of selected gram panchayats from across the country will be invited. Programmes include remembering the martyrs and ‘Vasudha Vandan’, saluting the national flag, holding rallies and others. The programmes are witnessing great support from the villagers of the LWE-affected districts of Chhattisgarh, especially from the school children, the ITBP said. “Tiranga Yatras are being held at hundreds of places in Left Wing Extremism affected areas. In these rallies, the ITBP jawans along with the villagers are organizing Prabhat Feri and Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav rallies carrying the national flag,” said the ITBP. Along with this, Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan is being organised from August 13 to 15. “The villagers are hoisting tricolour on the houses. The ITBP jawans are providing the national flags to the villagers for the same,” said the force. In addition to that, it said, many competitions, awareness sessions related to the national flag, and commemoration programmes at the martyrs’ memorials are being conducted continuously.