Ahmedabad, Sep 14 (IANS): More than 1,000 young volunteers from across the country will take part in a 21-day Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Seva Yatra connecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s childhood home town of Vadnagar in Gujarat with his parliamentary constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, organisers said on Monday.
The ‘Varanasi to Vadnagar Seva Yatra’ will begin on September 17 and continue until October 7, with participants travelling simultaneously in two directions — from Vadnagar to Varanasi and from Varanasi to Vadnagar.
The campaign is being organised to mark and draw inspiration from 25 years of PM Modi’s public life and his emphasis on public service and nation-building.
BJYM national president and Vadodara Lok Sabha MP Hemang Joshi said the programme would not be limited to a motorcycle journey, but would seek to involve young people in community service activities along the routes.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years of public life represent an inspiring journey of service, dedication and putting the nation first for the youth of India. This Seva Yatra from Varanasi to Vadnagar is an effort to transform that philosophy of life into a resolve of the nation’s youth,” Joshi said.
“Our objective is to ensure that the youth of India are not merely spectators of change, but active participants in nation-building,” he added.
The participants, or ‘Seva Yatris’, will come from several parts of the country, including Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Bihar and the Northeast.
The organisers said the participation of young people from different regions, languages and cultures was intended to reinforce the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’.
The Yatra will cover 20 routes named after sacred Indian rivers and pass through 10 states, 193 districts, 773 tehsils and 1,159 villages.
At each halt, the participants will undertake service-oriented activities. Nearly 25 types of initiatives have been planned, including tree plantation and the creation of Seva Vatikas, cleanliness drives, Nasha Mukt Bharat and TB Mukt Bharat campaigns, water conservation and awareness programmes for a plastic-free India.
The programme will also include the honouring of saints and seers and felicitations for sanitation workers.
Joshi said the organisers would avoid traditional receptions for the participants and instead focus on cleanliness and community service.
"Under the ‘Swachhta Se Swagat’ initiative, local BJYM workers will conduct cleanliness drives at each destination two days before the Seva Yatris arrive," he added.
The Yatra will also establish a symbolic connection between Vadnagar and Varanasi through river water. Participants travelling from Vadnagar to Varanasi will carry sacred water from rivers in Gujarat for Jalabhishek at Kashi Vishwanath Dham.
Those travelling in the opposite direction will carry sacred water from rivers in Uttar Pradesh for Jalabhishek at Shri Hatkeshwar Mahadev Temple in Vadnagar.
Joshi said rivers were central to India’s civilisation, culture and faith and that using river water as a symbol of the Yatra was intended to represent cultural unity and a shared commitment to service.
“Nation-building is not the responsibility of the government alone. It is the responsibility of every citizen, and particularly of the youth. Inspired by PM Modi, we want every young Indian to make seva a part of their life in their respective communities and contribute to the building of a Viksit Bharat," he asserted.
The Yatra will therefore seek to link Vadnagar, associated with PM Modi’s childhood and formative years, with Varanasi, where he has represented the constituency in the Lok Sabha and continued his public life.
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This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
