Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday inaugurated 'Seva Saptah Karyakram' to mark 69th birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17.
At the occasion, the minister took an oath with hundreds of people and appealed them to discard single-use plastic for the betterment of the environment.
"Launched the Statewide #SevaSaptah campaign in Bhubaneswar to celebrate the birthday of PM @narendramodi. Urged our karyakartas to serve the society, poor & marginalised and also work towards water conservation and sensitising people to discard single-use plastic," Pradhan tweeted.
During his speech at the occasion, Pradhan said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that if 125 crore people will take a step forward, the country will march towards development. During the 'Seva Saptah' we all must take a step forward to help others in need, help in keeping our surroundings clean and help in conserving water."
Pradhan further appealed to people of Odisha to observe the week-long campaign as a social festival for the betterment of the society and people at large. The campaign will continue till September 20.
The Union Minister distributed a number of aids for assistance to differently-abled people like hearing aids and wheelchairs.
Pradhan flagged off dozens of ambulance vans to reach out every district for the free health check. Along with it, a blood donation camp has also been started.
BJP MP from Bhubaneswar Aparajita Sarangi, Odisha Leader of Opposition Pradipta Nayak and several senior leaders of state accomped Pradhan at the event.
( With inputs from ANI )