AMN
The Prime Minister said he considers water conservation as a form of service to the country. He specially mentioned Satchidanand Bharti of Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand.
Mr Bharti is a teacher and has imparted very good education to the people through his deeds. Due to his hard work, the huge water crisis in the Ufrainkhal area of Pauri Garhwal has come to an end.
Mr Modi also spoke about a traditional method of water conservation, which is called Chalkhal. It involves digging a big pit to collect water. Mr Bharti also added some new methods to this tradition. He regularly got small and big ponds dug. Due to this, not only the hills of Ufrainkhal turned green, but the problem of drinking water of the people was also solved. Mr Modi expressed his awe that more than 30 thousand such water tanks were constructed. He termed it very inspiring.
He also noted how the people of Andhav village in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh have made an innovative effort and given a very interesting name to their campaign – Khet ka pani khet mein, gaon ka pani gaon mein. Under this campaign, high bunds have been raised in several hundred bighas of fields of the village. As a result, rain water started collecting in the field, and started percolating into the ground. Now, these people are also planning to plant trees on the bunds of the fields. Farmers will now get all three – water, trees and money!
Mr Modi said everyone must take inspiration from all these efforts, and conserve water in whatever way possible. He said this crucial period of monsoon season must not be missed. The Prime Minister quoted from ures saying – “नास्ति मूलम् अनौषधम्” – Nasti Moolam Anoushadham – that is, there is no such plant on earth which does not have any medicinal properties. Mr Modi said there are many such trees and plants, which have amazing properties which people are unaware of. He mentioned Paritosh from Nainital who wrote to him on the same subject. Paritosh had written that he came to know about miraculous medicinal properties of Giloy and many other plants only after the outbreak of Corona. Mr Modi also spoke about Ramlotan Kushwaha from Satna of Madhya Pradesh, who has built a museum of indigenous plants on his farm. In this museum, he has collected hundreds of medicinal plants and seeds from far flung regions.
Mr Modi said the country celebrates National Doctors Day on the 1 st of July. This day is dedicated to the birth anniversary of the great doctor and statesman, Dr B.C. Roy. Mr Modi expressed gratitude for the contribution of doctors in the Corona period. He also said there are many people in the country who have come forward and worked to help the doctors. He gave the example of one such attempt from Srinagar where a Boat Ambulance Service was started at Dal Lake. This service was started by Tariq Ahmad Patloo of Srinagar, who is a Houseboat Owner.
The Prime Minister said Chartered Accountants Day is also celebrated on the 1st of July. He extended his best wishes to all Chartered Accountants and their family members. Prime Minister Modi said 15th August is also approaching and Amrit Mahotsav of 75 years of Independence is a big inspiration. He said people’s mantra should be – India First – and every decision should have the basis of India First.
He said the country has also set many collective goals in the Amrit Mahotsav. He stressed on the need to revive the history related to freedom fighters by remembering them. In an earlier Mann Ki Baat Prime Minister had appealed to the youth to research and write the history of the freedom struggle. He expressed happiness that in a very short time, more than two thousand five hundred young persons have come forward to do this. He termed it a matter of joy that the youth who have been born and brought up in the 21st century have taken up cudgels to bring to the forefront the history of the Freedom Struggle of 19th and 20th century. These people will be writing on the freedom struggle in different languages such as Hindi – English, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi – Malayalam, and Gujarati.
The Prime Minister also read a letter by Thiru R. Guruprasad from Chennai who appreciated that Mr Modi spoke about Tamil culture in Mann Ki Baat. Mr Modi said Guruprasad feels proud of Tamil language. He further stated that every Indian should cherish and feel proud that the most ancient language of the world, Tamil, belongs to India.