NEW DELHI: Education Minister Ashish Sood on Tuesday said the government will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel with a series of events highlighting his message of unity and nation-building.
As part of the celebrations, 150 students from Delhi will carry water from the Yamuna River to 25 states across the country and collect water from prominent rivers there, including the Jhelum in Jammu and Kashmir.
Under the “Sardar @150” initiative, numerous programmes will be organised across the capital in response to the call of the central government and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The two-month-long campaign will spread the message of “Ek Bharat, Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Ekjut Bharat, Viksit Bharat”, while also promoting national unity, a drug-free lifestyle, and a clean Yamuna among the youth. “This 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel will rekindle the spirit of unity from Kashmir to Kanyakumari that he once envisioned,” Sood said.
As part of the campaign, 150 students from 15 educational districts of Delhi will collect water from the Yamuna River, which will then be carried to 25 major rivers across the country, including the Jhelum in Jammu and Kashmir and the Musi River in Hyderabad.
In exchange, sacred water from these rivers will be brought back to Delhi and offered at the Sardar Patel statue at Patel Chowk, symbolising the ‘National Unity Water Pledge’. On October 31, CM Rekha Gupta will perform the Jalabhishek (ritual offering) at the statue using this collected water. A documentary film based on this entire campaign will also be screened during the main ceremony.
The Education Minister further announced that on October 31, 2025, at 6:00 p.m., state-level “Ekta Padyatras” (Unity Marches) will be organised across Delhi’s 11 revenue districts under the leadership of the Chief Minister. The marches, beginning at Patel Chowk and concluding at the National War Memorial, will see the participation of around 5,000 people, including students, teachers, youth, and volunteers from the NSS, NCC, and My Bharat.