WR virtually celebrated 151st Birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

Over the last fortnight, Western Railway observed “Swachhta Pakhwada” starting from 16th Sept, 2020, to commemorate the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. In order to celebrate the day, Western Railway organised a webinar as part of the Gandhi Jayanti celebrations on 2nd October, 2020.

Alok Kansal – General Manager of Western Railway presided over this graceful event & Tanuja Kansal- President of Western Rly Women’s Welfare Organisation (WRWWO), Additional General Manager of WR, various Principal Heads of Departments and Divisional Rly Managers with their teams also participated in the webinar. GM appreciated the efforts of various performances during the webinar and congratulated the organisers to make this virtual celebration a successful one.

According to a press release issued by WR CPRO Sumit Thakur, the programme started remembering the teachings and messages of Mahatma Gandhi and showcased how Western Railway has successfully followed the path shown by Gandhiji in the recent past. 2nd October, 2020 is an important day in Indian history as on this day entire nation commemorate the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhiji & Shri Lal Bahadur Shastriji.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was first launched by Prime Minister on 2nd October, 2014 & after that it is celebrated every year on this occasion. Welcome speech by CPRO of Western Rly, was followed by an effective power point presentation on the birth place of Gandhiji at Porbandar. The birth place is called Kirti Mandir which is now converted into a museum.

PPT on other WR stations associated with Gandhiji was also presented. An audio/ visual was also played called “Dewaal pe Bawaal” which displayed the beautification of various station walls over the Western Railway under the project “Salaam Rakshak”. It is an initiative, being done in partnership with Western Railway.

A total of 41 stations, out of which 22 stations of Western Railway from Churchgate to Dahisar stations and 19 stations of Central Railway from CST to Thane will be beautified with murals dedicated to Corona Warriors. Presently, the pilot work at Borivali, Malad, Andheri and Santacruz stations are ready and the remaining work will begin shortly.

Subsequently, Additional General Manager of Western Railway gave a presentation on various works done during the Swachhta Pakhwada over WR. During the Swachhta Pakhwada over Western Rly, total 5,63,60,396 sq.meters area & 429 running kms of drains were cleaned, 1521 kms of railway track side cleaning & collection of 39.02 Tonnes plastic waste were ensured and 475.55 Tonnes of garbage was collected. It was also apprised that excellent customer feedback was received about cleanliness standards over WR. In this feedback, the good & above rating was 87% in the category of cleanliness of platforms & circulating areas, while it was 85% in cleanliness of toilets, 94% in cleanliness of waiting halls and 79% in cleanliness of trains.

This was followed with the singing performance of Gandhiji’s two favourite bhajans & Nukkad Nataks on the theme of cleanliness, showcasing the effective teachings & messages of Mahatma Gandhiji in an entertaining manner, with awareness to ensure a cleaner & healthier environment.

A presentation was shown by Divisional Railway Manager of Mumbai Division, which showcased the outcome of the initiative “Swachh Colony Mera Abhimaan” by WRWWO President Tanuja Kansal. In this a 360 ° review of cleanliness standards & efforts of 17 railway colonies was conducted by the Mumbai Central division of WR and the top 5 winning railway colonies out of 17 participants, were awarded by WRWWO. Andheri ( East) Rly colony of WR, got 1st prize in this unique competition.

The programme then followed by a short awareness film “AADAT BADLO..BHARAT BADLO” on cleanliness, with a theme to invoke behavioural changes in our lives, to make a better country. The programme came to an conclusion with the enriching words and anecdotes shared by General Manager Alok Kansal, in which he emphasized to adopt valuable teachings & philosophy of Mahatma Gandhiji about cleanliness in our daily lives. He said that Western Rly had been a very strong connection with Mahatma Gandhiji, as not only his birth place Porbandar, but various work places including Sabarmati, Rajkot & Gandhi Smriti also falls under its jurisdiction.