UDAIPUR, The Western Regional Centre of the Anthropological Survey of India in Udaipur organized a programme on Oct. 2 to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary and promote cleanliness and environmental conservation.

The programme began with the lighting of a ceremonial lamp by Dr. Nilanjan Khatua, deputy director and regional in-charge of the centre. Khatua spoke about Gandhi’s life, philosophy and contribution to the country.

Officials and employees then took the “Swachhata Hi Seva Pledge 2026” in Hindi, committing themselves to maintaining cleanliness at their workplaces and surrounding areas.

A floral tribute was also paid to Gandhi, with participants recalling his teachings of truth, nonviolence and cleanliness.

As part of the programme, a cleanliness drive was conducted at the historic Sundar Baori located on the Agriculture College campus. Dr. G.L. Menaria of Takshila Vidyapeeth gave a brief account of the baori’s history and said it was built during the reign of Maharana Raj Singh I of Mewar.

Dr. Kulshekhar Vyas spoke about the architectural features of the historic stepwell. Officials and workers of the Anthropological Survey of India, Lokjan Seva Sansthan, Rajasthan Vidyapeeth and the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Udaipur, jointly cleaned the area and removed vegetation growing around the baori.

A plantation drive was also held during the programme. Participants planted saplings and pledged to protect them. The importance of plantation, environmental conservation and maintaining a clean and green environment was highlighted.

Those present included Dr. A. Preetibala, Sudarshan Oraon, P. Mangalakshmi, Ajay Chaudhary, Romi Anand, Dr. Dayaram Singh, Dr. Vishesh Kumar Singh, Sandeep Das, Praveen, Vikas, Sanjay Meena, Shubham Sharan Singh and Kankana Basu from the Anthropological Survey of India.

Representatives of Lokjan Seva Sansthan, including Jaykrishna Chaubey, Indrajit Ranawat, Prof. Vimal Sharma and Haji Mohammad Sardar, and Rahul from the Handicrafts Service Centre also participated.

The programme concluded with a collective commitment to maintaining cleanliness and greenery at workplaces and in surrounding areas.