Literacy House remembers founder

LUCKNOW :Gandhian and Padma Bhushan Chandi Prasad Bhatt inaugurated a seminar on ‘Relevance of Gandhi in today’s environment’ at Literacy House, even as it marked the 140th birth anniversary of its founder, Dr Wealthy Fischer, on Wednesday.

Bhatt, who has worked a lot to save trees, said, “Wealthy Fischer was inspired by Gandhi. It was on his insistence that Wealthy Fischer established Literacy House in Lucknow. This was a challenge for anyone at that time.

Through education Fischer wanted to eradicate social inequality and poverty in India. Like Gandhiji, he wanted to eradicate inequality.

He wanted everyone to be selfreliant in rural areas as the real India resided in villages.” Bhatt said that Gandhiji gave the mantra of rural development. He advocated the protection of environment and highlighted its importance through his slide show on ‘sensitivity of Himalayas, some points in environment development’.

He said that due to wanton cutting of trees in the Himalayas there is a loss of soil, which is why soil erosion is reported from the Himalayas. That is why rivers are flowing with more silt and it has also started affecting the plains of India.

India Literacy Board president G Pattanaik, former lokayukta justice SC Varma, former Rajya Sabha secretary-general RC Tripathi, Professor Bhumitra Dev, retired IAS Anees Ansari, former DGP Atul, IAS Venkateshwar Loo, Integral University V-C Dr Aqeel Ahmed, former IPS IC Dwivedi and former IAS Lokesh Kumar were among those present on the occasion.