Aiming to highlight the significance of rivers, Union Minister of Shipping, Waterways and Ports Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday launched ‘Bharat Pravah - India along its Shores’ to highlight the role of rivers-ports-shipping in the everyday life of a common man through literature, dialogue and communication.
While launching the initiative, Sonowal said that rivers and seas remain central to our spiritual life. “‘It is important that people living on the land are also reminded of the significance of rivers and seas. The government, under its flagship programme Sagarmala, has aimed to achieve port-led development and integrate the common people in India’s success story,” he said.
“At a time when our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the world on a new path, the initiative by Institute for Governance, Policies and Politics (IGPP) to bring forth the significance of shipping, ports and waterways to the minds of common people is appreciable. It will create awareness about the issues of the industry,” Sonowal said.
Under the Bharat Pravah initiative, events would be organised around various topics, such as ‘Rivers and Sea-Centric Development in India: Through a Historical Lens’ and ‘Sea, Rivers, Ports and Ship in Folk Culture and Literature’, among others.
Bharat Pravah is being organised at a time when India is celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava with a focus on economic, cultural and historical significance of India’s waterways, ports and shipping.