Mangaluru : Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim said it is nice to see a nationwide movement about cleanliness. Lot of discussions are going on, awareness is being created about a very important subject which never got prominence in India.

Speaking after inaugurating a session on ‘Shakth Manas- Sashakth Bharath’ for degree students on the first day of ‘Jagruth Bharath- Awakened India’, a four-day programme at Swami Vivekananda Auditorium, Ramakrishna Math in Mangaluru on Friday, he said that India always tagged itself as ‘poor country’ though it is rich with youth power.

From past five to six decades prominence was given to provide basic facilities and cleanliness was never considered seriously. “Now time has come for the young generation to inculcate the culture of cleanliness and it should be a part of life. Cleanliness of our mind and society are interdependent and both are important to keep our Country healthy,” he said.

A B Ibrahim opined that a lesson on cleanliness and hygiene should be mandatory on textbooks. Students should be ambassadors of cleanliness and they should be the messengers to society, he said. Meanwhile, he released the t-shirts and caps for Swacch Mangaluru, a 40-week campaign which will be inaugurated on February 1.

Ramakrishna Math Adhyaksha Swami Jitakamanandaji called upon students to understand their responsibility in constructing the world. Jagruth Bharath is all about creating awareness about being model citizens of the country, which would refresh the mind, he said. He wanted active participation of students in Swacch Mangaluru campaign.

Rev Swami Atmarupanandaji Maharaj (USA), Vijay Nath Bhat (Mysuru), Prof K Raghothama Rao (Bengaluru) and Tejasvi Surya (Bengaluru) were also present as the resource persons.