Those who work towards societal development should also dedicate themselves to promoting ethical, happy homes, for they are the key to nation development, said former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at a function held in the city on Sunday.
Such homes contribute to societal development, which in turn leads to national growth. And that should be the objective of all.
Mr. Kalam was speaking at the Lions Clubs International’s function organised to inaugurate mega service projects and present awards to O. Arumugaswamy and ‘Aroma’ Ponnuswamy.
In the process of nation development, people must also undertake green initiatives. Expressing his happiness at the Lions Clubs planting 30 lakh saplings a day, he said a tree consumed 20 kg carbon dioxide and emanated 14 kg oxygen.
In Coimbatore alone several initiatives had been taken to increase tree cover and he had been associated with some of them, he said and asked the members of the Lions family to plant and nurture 10 saplings.
Mr. Kalam also said that he had a grand vision of billion people planting billion saplings to green India.
Community centre
He earlier inaugurated a multi-purpose community centre, artificial limbs manufacturing unit, presented gastro endoscopy machine to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, napkin vending machines to government schools and renal dialysis unit to a nursing home.
He appealed to the donors to consider donating a mobile dialysis unit to help aged patients undergo dialysis units at their door step.
