The role of the people in keeping the towns and villages of this holiday destination clean was stressed by the Nilgiris Collector Archana Patnaik at Aruvankadu near here on Tuesday.
Participating in the 31st Annual Day celebrations of the Rural Development Organisation (RDO), a non governmental organization, she said that all should join hands to make the Nilgiris litter-free and plastics- free.
The Consul-General of Japan Tomonori Minowa said that help will be extended to about 6,000 people to take up livelihood projects.
He pointed out that the Embassy of Japan had assisted the RDO to the tune of Rs. 97,000 US dollars to put up a training centre.
The Chief Conservator of Forests Rajiv K.Srivastava said that dependence on the people, particularly in the rural areas, to protect forests and wild animals was on the rise.
The Project Director, Hill Area Development Programme (HADP), Deepak Srivatsava, said that in the implementation of various schemes, the active involvement of farmers and women would be ensured.
The Chief Regional Manager, United India Insurance, K.P.Lakshmanan, said that with the help of the RDO, as many as 20,000 Below the Poverty Line families in the Nilgiris would be brought under the Universal Health Insurance Scheme.
The Founder-Director RDO N.K.Perumal welcomed the gathering.
