Konark: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the 'Nua Odisha Nirmana Abhijan'on the auspicious occasion of Utkal Dibasa at Chandrabhaga sea beach in Konark in Puri on Sunday.
The event is organized under the banner of Prachi Trust, a social organization.
As a part of the programme, thousands of youths gathered at the Chandrabhaga sea beach at around 5 am and pledged before the rising Sun God to work for formation and development of Odisha.
After the worship of the Sun God, Upendra Maharana, the successor of Bisu Maharana and Dharama, who are related to the great heritage and history of the Konark Temple administered oath to the youths on the occasion.
"The success of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is incomplete if places, like Konark, Puri, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Sundergarh and Bolangir among others are not sanitized and cleaned," said the Union Minister while attending the ceremony for the Nua Odisha Nirmana Abhijan.
"Cleanliness is a social responsibility. The health condition of children in 20 districts of Odisha is alarming due to malnutrition. Not only the government, but a massive public awareness needs to be created to fight such evils. Similarly, someone has also to take the charge of guiding the 45 lakh youths of the State," added Pradhan.