Rajendra Kumar Singh, popularly known as the waterman of India, was presented with the lifetime achievement award in social service at Telangana Jagruthi International Youth meet here on Sunday. Along with him, two young women — wrestler Babita Phogat and mountaineer Mallavat Poorna — were awarded youth achievers title.
A Magsaysay award-winner, Mr. Singh was instrumental in reviving five rivers in India thereby preventing water scarcity in several rural areas. Ms. Poorna is a mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest when she was 13 while Ms. Phogat is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist in women’s wrestling.
Speaking at the meeting, Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan said, “Yuv Shakti is not just the power of young men. Yuv Shakti also means Stree Shakti or the power of women. We should not forget that youth empowerment also means the empowerment of both men and women,” Mr. Narasimhan said.
Young people should adopt peaceful lives like Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Narasimhan added, asking youth to adopt non-violence and tolerance.
“We need to communicate with one another and learn from one another. Young people are often impatient. But they should learn tolerance and patience,” he said.
The Governor also stressed the need for providing quality education to women and affordable healthcare to all.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Singh urged the youth to actively work towards protecting the environment. “The earth is facing global warming and climate change. Scarcity of water is also a challenge which the world still faces. For securing our future, we should safeguard our planet. And the youth should actively participate in this project,” he said.
The two-day meeting, which concluded on Sunday, had Sustainable Development Goals as its focus.
TRS MP K. Kavitha, who was also present at the event, said Telangana Jagruthi will continue to host youth meets once every two years. “We will keep building and widening these networks,” she said.
