Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatraya on Saturday inaugurated ‘Swarnim Pushp Vatika’ developed by Seema Scouts at Government Degree College Seema of Rohru in district Shimla . He also launched “Holistic Development through Scouting Model of Sustainable Livelihood” through virtual media from Raj Bhavan.
The Governor appreciated the efforts of Seema Scouts for their venture and hoped that it could be replicated throughout the state and other states as well.
He called on all youths associated with scouting to adopt nine basic laws of Scouts and Guides in life which included trust, loyalty, brotherhood, courteousness, love towards animals and nature, discipline, courage, thriftiness, purity in thought, word and deed.
Dattaraya said that scouting and guiding is a movement to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual and skilful aspects as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of the local, national and international communities.
He quoted the words of Founding Father of scouting Lord Baden Powell, “You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give”.Scouting helps to achieve Youth Empowerment, create active citizens, cultivate lifelong values and skills besides engaging in peace education based on four pillars of scouting, character and intelligence, health and strength, handicrafts and skills besides service, he added.
Dattatraya stressed on following the three major principles of Scouts and Guides, including duty to God, duty to others and duty to oneself. He lauded the role of Scout and Guides for carrying out various activities during the corona pandemic and said that now the cases were increasing again. He said that it was very important to be cautious and he asked all the scouts to contribute in making people aware by spreading awareness on wearing masks, making proper distance in public places and taking care of hygiene etc.
Earlier, Director, Higher Education, Dr Amarjeet Singh detailed various activities of Bharat Scouts and Guides in Himachal Pradesh.