Celebrating the birthday of Bapu

Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said Gandhi Jayanti should be celebrated on a large scale, on par with Dr S Radhakrishnan’s birthday that is celebrated as Teachers’ Day. Addressing a gathering at Gandhi Bhavan after unveiling a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the chief minister said efforts should be made to celebrate Gandhi’s birthday as a government function.

“We have to celebrate it on a grand scale,’’ the chief minister said.

Stating that real freedom comes when villages are developed, the chief minister said a lot has to be done for the development of rural areas.

“Mahatma Gandhi considered gram swarajya (freedom of villages) as sampoorna swarajya (complete freedom). We find senior citizens and illiterates remain in villages while educated youth from rural areas migrate to cities,’’ he said.

Earlier, minister for rural development and panchayat raj, HK Patil, had emphasised the need to follow Gandhian values.

“We have taken lot of measures to ensure transparency in development works taken in rural areas. All the information on the funds allocation and development works is available online,’’ the minister said.

Speaking on the occasion, AN Yellappa Reddy, an environmentalist, said environmental pollution has become a menace for people in rural areas.

“Farmers are using pesticides without knowing its ill-effects. Laboratories in agricultural universities and colleges only focus on the amount of yields farmers receive. The need of the hour is to make rural areas free from the usage of pesticides,’’ he said.