In celebration of the monsoon and the ongoing Swachh Rail, Swachh Bharat initiative by the Government of India and India’s dynamic Railway Minister, Shri Suresh Prabhuji, students from several countries gathered together at the Rishikesh Railway Station to plant trees, clean up and visit the site. This project tarted with the inspiration and blessing of Pujya Swamiji, under-taken by the Ganga Action Parivar, of which He is the Founder, and Parmarth Niketan Ashram, of which He is the President, to make the railway station a model clean, green and serene station.
A majority of the group were 30 students, coming from diverse backgrounds and different universities and work places in the United Kingdom, who visited Parmarth Niketan while studying in an International Short Term Program, on “Social Entrepreneurship in Creating Sustainable and Scalable Social Change in India,” at the IILM Institute for Business & Management, Gurgaon. They mentioned that so many people from abroad want to learn more about Indian spirituality and culture and are attracted to the cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh in Uttarakhand. Many of them also come to study Yoga and meditation. They shared that they had also come for these purposes, staying at Parmarth Niketan for two days and taking part in Yoga Asana and Yoga in Action, especially by serving in Parmarth’s multi-faceted service projects blossoming and thriving under Pujya Swamiji’s divine vision and leadership.
They took part in a beautiful water blessing ceremony and pledged to support the work for water, sanitation and hygiene, sharing the message of peace not pieces with their communities back home in the challenging times of the United Kingdom. They also expressed that it was wonderful that the Government of Uttarakhand is undertaking a mono-rail project of constructing a 38 km corridor from Dehradun-Rishikesh-Haridwar. “This will certainly make travel between these cities much more comfortable and enjoyable for all of us.” said one of the participants. Since many of them were driving back to Delhi from their stay at the ashram they also added that the Delhi to Haridwar fast train would be another great way to connect people in the heart of the nation’s capital to experience the rich cultural, spiritual and natural heritage that the Himalayan state has to offer.
In a telephonic statement about the recent activities Pujya Swamiji, who is currently travelling abroad, shared His thoughts, “I remember when Shri Suresh Prabhuji was here last year and we ceremonially launched the Haridwar- Rishikesh-Raiwala bio-toilet projects, which were conceived to support the Swachh Rail, Swachh India (Clean Railways, Clean India) initiative. During his visit a very large group of people visiting Parmarth Niketan, from many different countries and all over India, shared a letter and a petition with him with suggestion to create a mono-rail between Dehradun-Haridwar-Rishikesh and to also create a fast track train from Delhi to Haridwar-Rishikesh so that thousands of yatris could be benefited by better connectivity between these cities. I believe when suggestions are received from the people and they are implemented in a fast track and integrated manner this is truly a testament and sign of good governance. I am so glad to see that under Shri Suresh Prabhuji’s able leadership with the support of our capable Shri Dinesh Agarwalji, State Minister of Environment and Forests, and Dr. R Meenakshi Sundaramji, as well as many others, this project has taken off and the work will be started in its first phase soon.”