About Us Press Releases

Grand finale of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi: Inauguration of the Solar Power Plant in the embassy

Posted on: October 05, 2020 | Back | Print

On the grand finale of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi today Prime Minister of Madagascar Christian Ntsay and Ambassador Abhay Kumar inaugurated a solar power plant at the Embassy of India, Antananarivo. 

Speaking on the occasion Ambassador Abhay Kumar said —“Mahatma Gandhi was an ardent believer and practioner of non-violence. His birth anniversary  is also celebrated as the International Day of Non-violence. His non-violence was not only towards other human beings but also towards nature.” He added—“Our violence towards nature has led to biodiversity loss, environmental pollution and climate change. On his birthday and on international day of non-violence today, we must commit ourselves to non-violence towards nature.”

Embassy of India Antananarivo today became the first Indian Embassy to go clean and green with the installation of 8KW power plant on its rooftop. Both India and Madagascar are members of International Solar Alliance and Antananarivo receives plenty of solar power throughout the year. 

The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Rahanirina B. Vahinala,  also graced the event and speaking on the occasion said —“Mahatma Gandhi said—‘Be the change you want to see in the World’, and lo and behold, setting up such a solar power plant is one example of the change we want, that we would like to see in this World.She added—“I want to congratulate the Embassy on this initiative on behalf of our Government because it is a big step towards economic development without losing sight of our environment.”

Prime Minister Christian Ntsay in his inaugural speech said—“Excellency Mr. Ambassador,I am really happy to be here this afternoon, because for me this is a great achievement in the diplomatic world and I really appreciate that India is making this change and my Government appreciates this great achievement, and  this great initiative.”

He added -“India is showing us now that it is possible to change. Switching from thermal to solar is a great challenge, but we need to go beyond words and make it a reality and now we can say that you have made a difference and I want to congratulate you and your team again for this great achievement.”

He further added -“I would like to emphasize that Madagascar is very impressed by this achievement; I expect that all Embassies in Antananarivo and all over the country will also switch from fossil energy to solar energy. We, our office can learn from this great achievement as well. I am also very happy to know that you have partnered with a Malagasy company to execute it and I congratulate you.”

Speaking about the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi PM Christian Ntsay said —“Today, we are celebrating  the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the International Day of Non-Violence. It is necessary to remind ourselves that in the context of this country, non violence is key in terms of promoting democracy. You have made a definite link between non-violence and fighting climate change. Yes it is very important to note that for promoting democracy in Madagascar, we need to learn a lot from Mahatma Gandhi and non-violence is the best way of promoting democracy in a new and developing country. We all see this as a model.”

The event was attended by the Ambassador of the United States of America, Michael Pellitier, Head of UNDP in Madagascar Ms. Marie Dimond;UNIDO Country Representative, Ms. Volatiana Rakotondrazafy;WWF Country Director, Ms. Nanie   R. and the Presidents of the Indian communities in Madagascar. They all paid floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on this occasion.