Mangaluru : Cleanliness of our surroundings reflects the cleanliness of our minds, opined Nitte University chancellor N Vinay Hegde.

He was speaking at a programme on Sunday to mark the occasion of the completion of 300 cleanliness drives organised by the Ramakrishna Mission, Mangaluru, under Swacch Mangaluru Abhiyan.

He further said it was unfortunate that people have developed a self-centric attitude when it comes to cleanliness. They think that it is enough to keep our house premises clean while the littering of waste in the surroundings is taken for granted. This mentality should go in order to achieve a clean nation.

He added that there is another aspect for cleanliness, which is the cleanliness of character. Children should cultivate discipline and respect their elders. Students should be a model for all.

N Vinay Hegde also announced that the Nitte University, in association with Ramakrishna Mission, will flag-off the ‘Swacch Nitte’ programme in the near future.

MRPL general manager B H V Prasad Rao lauded the work of Ramakrishna Mission and said that it has set an example to other organisations.

Mementos were distributed to Swacch Mangaluru campaign volunteers on the occasion, as 4,000 volunteers had taken part in the Swacch Abhiyan in 40 teams.

Ramakrishna Mutt, Mangaluru, president seer Jitakamananda presided over the programme. Kudroli Ganesh, Dr Vivek Modi, Prof Raghottam Rao, MLC Capt Ganesh Karnik and seer Ekagamyananda were present on the occasion.