By Our Reporter
Shillong: Launching the ‘Youth for Green Movement’ which is a part of the International Year of the Youth in Meghalaya, the East Khasi Hills District Administration along with the Office of the District Sports Officer, East Khasi Hills organised a marathon run for the youth of the State on Tuesday which saw the active participation of thousands from all parts of the State.
Before handing out the prizes to the winners of the marathon, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said this is a way of reaching out to the youth of the State and building a partnership with all of them in the campaign of the Government named the ‘Youth for Green Movement’.
Elaborating on the campaign, Dr Sangma informed the youth gathered at the function that what is termed a ‘movement’ does not end in a day.
“It is not a single event or an isolated endeavour. It has to be an endeavour which has to be carried forward on a sustainable basis for a reasonable period of time. We have drawn up some programmes which coincide with the Year of the Youth programme of the State Government,” Dr Sangma said.
Reminding the gathering that the State Government has announced this year as the Year of the Youth, the Chief Minister said that various activities in relation to various opportunities for the youth are part of the programme while he added that “One of the very important programmes in this Year of the Youth campaign is the ‘Youth for Green Movement’ which will be carried over for three years.”
Saying that the Government of Meghalaya has just started the programme with this marathon, Dr Sangma congratulated the participants of the marathon for being the first to participate in the ‘Youth for Green Movement’.
“As we refer to this movement as the ‘Youth for Green Movement’, we want to think green, we want to eat green and we want to ensure that our environment stays green,” said Dr Sangma while adding that there is a need to ensure that the environment is insulated from all kinds of onslaught resulting from human activities.
“We need to strike a balance between human needs and the need to protect our ecology,” he said, adding that this can be accomplished through a partnership with the young members of the society.
Stating that the movement will not be confined to a single activity, Dr Sangma said that the movement has diverse applications of various activities and in this regard, a lot of sensitization programmes will be organized to ensure that everyone starts thinking the same way.
Dr Sangma, on behalf of the State Government, appealed to those gathered at the function and the citizens of the State at large to be receptive towards these programmes and be ready to participate in them.
Earlier in the day, Dr Sangma flagged off another marathon organized by the Pynthorumkhrah Congress Block which started from the Golf Club area of the city.
Dr Sangma also visited the Mawkhar locality of Shillong to inspect the plot of land in the locality which has been approved by the Government for the construction of a multi-purpose complex-cum-Dorbar Hall of the locality. During the inspection, Dr Sangma also interacted with the residents of the locality, leaders and little children who lined up the street to greet him.