Protests, launch of cleanliness projects mark Gandhi Jayanti Day in Kochi

Mahatma Gandhi's 155th birth anniversary celebrated with clean Kerala campaign, protests, and events in the city and suburbs.

The 155th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was celebrated on Wednesday with a variety of events in the city and suburbs. The highlights of the day included the launch of a ‘Clean District’ project and protests against what the organisers claimed were instances of government neglect.

The district-level ‘Malinya Mukta Nava Keralam’, a clean, new Kerala people’s campaign, was inaugurated at the Eloor municipal town hall by Industries Minister P. Rajeeve. Speaking on the occasion, he said Kerala aimed to achieve the top spot among States in cleanliness.

The people’s campaign will last over six months across the State under a special drive by the government. Kerala will be declared clean at the end of the campaign. Each local body has been given a plan of action for the campaign.

Eloor municipality is an example of effective handling of waste. It sells waste materials worth ₹5 to ₹6 lakh a month. The municipality is also one of the areas where the ‘waste-free Kalamassery’ programme is on, the Minister said.

The T.M. Jacob Memorial Government College campus, Manimalakunnu, was declared the first green campus in the State on Wednesday. The area around the KSRTC bus depot in the city was cleaned up, and work on several ‘green islands’ and ‘green pathways’ were dedicated to the people, according to a press release.

The District Congress Committee (DCC) organised a Gandhi memorial meet at DCC Bhavan in the city. MPs Benny Behanan, Hibi Eden, and Jebi Mather, MLAs T.J. Vinod and Anwar Sadat, and DCC president Mohammed Shiyas were present.

Moolampilly Coordination Committee, a forum representing people who were evicted from their homes for the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal project, organised a candle-lit meeting in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi near Rajendra Maidan, protesting against the alleged failure of the authorities to keep their promise to provide employment to members of families affected by the project.