Udupi girl speaks about ‘Clean India’ in front of President Murmu

UDUPI: In a rare opportunity, a Class 9 student of Anandathirtha Vidyalaya in Pajaka, Udupi – Avantika V Rao – spoke in front of President Droupadi Murmu earlier this week, as she had bagged the first prize in the Tata Building India School Essay Competition, which is a key initiative of Tata Group to instill a sense of pride and spirit of nation-building in India’s youth.

Over 30 million students participated in the competition, in which 29 emerged as winners.

Avantika and 28 other students from various parts of the country were at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and among them, Avantika and another student – Kushi Prajapathi from Nagaur, Rajasthan – got the opportunity to speak in front of the President.                                                                                                         (Avantika is the daughter of Vijay P Rao, Principal of Anandathirtha P U College, Pajaka)

Avantika has been featured on the official Twitter handle of the President of India. During her three minutes speech, she emphasised on Clean India and how each one should take responsibility to achieve it, Avantika said recycling of waste will set things in the right direction. “Our sense of cleanliness must inspire others,” she added.

President Murmu congratulated the winners, saying that during the ‘Amrit Kaal’, the topic of the essay competition ‘Five things I will do to build a great India’ is relevant. She expressed confidence that when India celebrates its 100 years of Independence, the contribution of these young minds would be for the betterment of the country as a whole. She urged children to dream big and try hard to realise their dreams.