Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday, 25 May 2026, issued a public appeal to children and parents across the state, urging them to use the summer vacation to reconnect with family traditions, learn new skills, and pledge to make the holidays plastic-free.

Context

In his post, CM Yogi addressed children directly — 'mere pyare bachcho' ('my dear children') — encouraging teenagers and young adults to use the break to learn a new language or acquire a new skill. He specifically urged parents to take children to their maternal and paternal grandparents' homes so they can spend time with family and understand their cultural roots and traditions up close.

He wrote, 'unhe parivar ke saath samay bitane den, taki ve apne sanskaron aur paramparaon ko nikat se jan saken' — 'let them spend time with family, so that they can closely understand their values and traditions.' He also called on parents to help children connect with nature during the summer break.

Policy Backdrop

The appeal is consistent with the Uttar Pradesh government's long-standing effort to blend cultural transmission with environmental responsibility. Since 2017, state education and culture departments have run periodic campaigns encouraging school students to engage with family heritage and traditional practices during vacations.

On the environmental front, Uttar Pradesh banned identified single-use plastic items in 2018 as part of its environmental protection drive, aligned with the national Swachh Bharat Mission launched in 2014. CM Yogi's call to make the holidays 'plastic-free' reinforces this standing state policy at the household level.

Stakeholders and Impact

School children and parents across Uttar Pradesh are the direct audience of this advisory. The message carries a dual mandate: preserve intergenerational cultural bonds by visiting grandparents — both nanihal (maternal family) and dadihal (paternal family) — and adopt environmentally responsible habits during leisure time.

The appeal to connect children with nature and reduce plastic use targets everyday household behaviour, asking families to translate the state's broader environmental goals into small, concrete summer actions. CM Yogi noted that 'small efforts become the foundation of big changes in the future.'

What's Next

The advisory may be followed by state-level summer activity guidelines or targeted plastic-reduction drives coordinated through schools and local bodies in the coming weeks. Uttar Pradesh's education and environment departments have in previous years issued supplementary campaigns off the back of such seasonal messaging from the Chief Minister's office.

If the pattern holds, district administrations could roll out community-level programmes encouraging children to document family traditions or participate in nature-awareness activities — turning a social media appeal into structured ground-level outreach before schools reopen.