Gandhinagar, Sep 17 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday participated in a cleanliness drive at Vadnagar Railway Station and planted 76 saplings along with children with disabilities as part of programmes marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 76th birthday.
The cleanliness drive was organised under the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’ at the station, located in PM Modi’s birthplace, as part of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign being undertaken by the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway.
HM Shah swept the railway station premises with a broom and participated in the cleanliness activity, conveying the message of maintaining clean and well-kept railway premises.
Mehsana MP Hari Patel and Ahmedabad Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Ved Prakash, along with a large number of railway officers and employees present at the station, also participated in the drive.
The ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ (SHS) 2026 campaign began across the country on September 17 and will conclude on October 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
In Ahmedabad Division, the campaign includes cleanliness and awareness activities at railway stations, offices, residential areas and other public places.
Passengers, railway employees and members of the public will also be sensitised about cleanliness during the campaign.
Under the ‘Swachh Pathshala-Yuva for Swachhata’ programme, activities including cleanliness pledges and awareness programmes on solid waste management and proper waste segregation have been organised.
Visits to railway wastewater treatment plants, bio-toilet plants and coach washing lines, along with street plays, art competitions and activities promoting the reuse of items, are also part of the campaign.
Special cleaning drives will be conducted on September 19 and 20 at identified garbage-sensitive locations around railway stations, yards, railway colonies and along railway tracks.
Following the cleaning, these locations will be beautified and developed as ‘Swachhata Selfie Points’. The division said the participation of voluntary organisations, social organisations and local residents would also be encouraged.
At Vadnagar station, HM Shah also participated in a tree plantation programme with 76 children with disabilities.
The initiative was organised around the themes of environmental conservation and social inclusion, with 76 saplings being planted by the children.
HM Shah and Patel also planted saplings during the programme.
According to DRM Ved Prakash, each of the 76 saplings planted for PM Modi’s 76th birthday symbolised a commitment to environmental conservation, a green future and equal participation in society.
"The participation of children with disabilities conveyed that every section of society has an equal and important role in environmental conservation and nation-building efforts," he added.
The tree plantation programme also builds on an initiative undertaken at Vadnagar station last year. On September 17, 2025, 75 saplings were planted there under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign to mark PM Modi’s 75th birthday.
The Ahmedabad Division said regular care and protection of those saplings had been ensured over the past year. "The plants have since developed into healthy, green trees and are bearing fruits and flowers," officials added.
The division said its ‘from plantation to conservation’ initiative forms part of its efforts to increase green areas on railway premises, promote environmental conservation and raise awareness among passengers and the public, while making railway premises cleaner and more environmentally friendly.
--IANS
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