President Ram Nath Kovind has said people should make an effort to inculcate among school children the virtues of revering India's tradition of regarding nature as divine as it will be beneficial for society.
"In India we worship rivers. We value trees and forests .. This is our tradition. We must make an effort to remember these virtues, and it can be done by inculcating these virtues in our schoolchildren. It will be beneficial for the society," Kovind said.
The president was speaking after inaugurating 'Seva Utsav 2018', organised by the Adamya Chetana Foundation, and also the 100th anniversary of National Education Society of Karnataka and National High School that the Society runs.
Adamya Chetana is a voluntary organisation working in the field of social development.
It has been set up in the memory of Girija Shastry, mother of Union minister Ananth Kumar, who had served the poor and the underprivileged.
Beginning in a small way with 'tailoring classes' for poor girls (1998), Adamya Chetana has now touched the lives of thousands through its various projects across its core themes of Anna, Akshara and Aarogya (Food Education Health).
It has also taken up additional areas of intervention around Rural Development and Environmental Issues, the organisation said.
Ananth Kumar's wife Tejaswini is the chairperson and managing trustee of Adamya Chetana.
Kovind praised Adamya Chetana for providing fresh and nutritious food to school children through its Annapurna project.
The Foundation s initiative is in keeping with its philosophy of Seva and its focus on Anna-Akshara-Arogya or food, education and health, the president said.
"I am glad to know Adamya Chetana Foundation this year has a theme centred on nature and culture. This theme is appropriate in the country and the society historically regarded nature as divine," he said.