Lucknow, Dec. 25 -- The Uttar Pradesh government has designated the Higher Education Department as the nodal department to ensure inter-departmental coordination for year-long inspirational programmes across the state to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna late Atal Behari Vajpayee on December 25. The main state-level programme will be held at Lok Bhawan on December 25 in the presence of the Chief Minister, with district-level events and live streaming across UP. A cultural programme will also be organised at the UP Sangeet Natak Akademi, besides a statewide cleanliness drive in urban and rural areas. Chief secretary S P Goyal issued directions for organising essay, speech and poetry recitation competitions at the district level. An essay competition on "Bharat Ratna Atal Behari Vajpayee and Good Governance" will be held for students of classes 8 to 12, while undergraduate and postgraduate students will take part in a speech competition on "The Importance of Good Governance". A solo poetry recitation competition based on Vajpayee's life and poems will also be organised for young students. District magistrates will select venues at universities or colleges and oversee the competitions. Winners of the essay competition will receive Rs.5,000, Rs.3,000 and Rs.2,000 for first, second and third positions respectively, while speech competition winners will get Rs.10,000, Rs.5,000 and Rs.2,500, along with certificates....