Develop reading habit, HP governor tells children

Presiding over an interaction programme with the students organised by the JaswanParagpur Vikas Parishad in Shimla today, governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said that it was important to understand the spirit of the word along with the letter. He told the students about the importance of books in life and reading them.

“I am not against mobile phones and television but reading books are also necessary,” said the governor and advised the children to read good books in library. He said, “Books are our friends, guides and philosophers. What we say should come into practice only then our life will be meaningful.”

He said that he likes to be among children, so he makes sure of his presence in such programmes. He appreciated the efforts of the Jaswan-Pragpur Vikas Parishad and said that others should take inspiration from them. He said that today there were many problems in society but the person who moves ahead by identifying those problems serves society in the right sense.

Appreciating the efforts of the parishad, he said that they should make efforts to start a library in every panchayat so that the children of rural areas could get facilities at their doorsteps. He said that it has been observed that today there was a ‘crisis of character’ in society, for which it was necessary to read good books. He said that his interaction with the children would continue in future also.

As many as 188 students and teachers from various villages of the Jaswan-Pragpur area participated in this interactive programme. Earlier, Bal Desai, who was present as a special guest at the programme, said that this was a unique initiative of the English learning and computer centre, which was providing opportunities to the children of rural areas to move forward by imparting skills and knowledge to them. Appreciating the efforts of the parishad in the education and social sector, he said the centre was making sure about the kind of education that should be given to the children of rural areas. He said that this was an inspirational programme, which was related to the future of the country. Welcoming the governor, Captain Sanjay Parashar, chairman, Jaswan-Paragpur Vikas Parishad, said that free computer and English learning centres have been opened in 36 villages of Jaswan-Paragpur, where about 2,500 students were studying.