n the occasion of World Environment Day and Ganga Dussehra, Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), Ranchi, in association with Vikas Bharti Bishunpur, organized a comprehensive environmental awareness program at the Vikas Bharti campus in Ranchi. Hundreds of workers and trainees took part in a padayatra and conducted a traditional worship ceremony of the Swarnarekha River at Boria, highlighting the spiritual and ecological significance of rivers.
A state-level seminar on environmental awareness was also held in collaboration with the Rohini Science Club. The seminar’s chief guest, Dr. Ashok Bhagat, Secretary of Vikas Bharti Bishunpur, emphasized the critical need for public engagement in environmental conservation. “Without awareness today, the future will be grim,” he said, urging everyone to continue tree plantation efforts for clean air and water.
Director of JSS Ranchi, Nikhilesh Maiti, shared that this year’s Environment Day marked a statewide initiative by Vikas Bharti to hold river worship ceremonies and awareness programs at 50 locations. A total of 27 rivers—including the Swarnarekha, Ganga, Koel, Mayurakshi, Pinjara, Amanat, Kanhar, and Northern Koel—were worshipped simultaneously across various districts. Each event saw active participation from hundreds of local residents.
The event also saw the unveiling of Rohini Science Club’s ‘Connect to Nature (C2N)’ campaign, aimed at minimizing the use of plastic and enhancing ecological literacy. Founder Shri GVSR Prasad educated the gathering on the dangers of plastic pollution and advocated for a zero-plastic lifestyle. As part of this campaign, a unique code-based system was introduced—when tagged to a tree and scanned, it reveals the tree’s details and ecological value.
To promote afforestation, each participant received a fruit-bearing mango sapling developed at Vikas Bharti’s Singi Dai Forest Science Centre in Bishunpur. Vice President Mrs. Ranjana Kumari, along with Basant Ohdar and Amar Kumar, graced the occasion and actively took part in the tree distribution ceremony.
The program also marked the successful conclusion of a state-level Environment Awareness Campaign that ran from April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti) to June 5. Over these 53 days, Vikas Bharti and Jan Shikshan Sansthan engaged village communities in water, forest, and land conservation. Through meetings, poster distribution, pamphlets, and wall writings, people were sensitized to prevent forest fires, save natural water sources, and curb tree felling.