To mark Gandhi Jayanti, Railways organises Mission Satyanishtha

New Delhi: In a unique way to pay obeisance to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, the Ministry of Railways under the leadership of Chairman Railway Board Ashwani Lohani celebrated the 149th birth anniversary of Gandhi by organising Mission Satyanishtha at the premises of Rail Bhawan.

While highlighting the objectives of the Mission Satyanishtha, Lohani said, "We are lucky that we have got a Prime Minister who is talking about cleanliness. So we have to take a pledge to keep our premises clean and encourage others for the same."

The railways has planted about 13.26 lakh trees plantation in 1300 km areas from September 15 to October 2 to pay homage to the Father of the Nation. Also, about 4 lakh employees have been trained at 300 places about satyanishtha towards their work and social responsibilities.

Highlighting the objectives of the satyanishtha, Lohani said, "We have to decide which is better either to keep our bosses happy by giving bouquets of flowers or performing well in our area. We all have to note it down that prime objective of satyanishtha is to work for the betterment of our society by giving corruption-free governance."

"Satyanishtha is not vigilance, but it is beyond that. It is a positive attitude and right way to do the work," Lohani said, adding that there are 100s of good practices happening every day in Indian Railway and this is the right time to document these.

In a separate event Sulabh International founder Padamshri Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, who is the brand ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission, on Tuesday said that India will be free from open defecation within the next couple of months.

Pathak who is actively involved in the ongoing 'Swaccha Bharat Abhiyan' said that India has so far achieved around 93 per cent of sanitation coverage.

Paying tribute to the father of the nation on his 150th birth anniversary, Pathak lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for undertaking campaign four years ago. Eminent journalist and Chairman of Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) Rambadhur Rai was the chief Guest of the event titled "Fundamentals and Secondaries of Gandhi and Relevance of non-violence".