Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has Changed Meaning of Public Participation in the Country: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister has urged the people to resolve to contribute towards Clean India and pledge to replace plastic bags with cloth bags.

Addressing the nation in the 98th episode of his Mann Ki Baat programme on All India Radio, Prime Minister said the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has changed the meaning of public participation in the country. He mentioned a cleanliness campaign by the youth of Haryana in a village called Dulhedi.

The youth of Dulhedi decided that Bhiwani city has to be made exemplary in terms of cleanliness. They formed an organization named Yuva Swachhta Evam Janseva Samiti. The youth associated with this committee reach Bhiwani at 4 in the morning and run cleanliness drives at different places in the city.

Prime Minister noted with satisfaction that these youth have cleared tons of garbage from different areas of the city. He said ‘Waste to Wealth’ is also an important dimension of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. He gave the example of Kamala Moharana from the Kendrapada district of Odisha, who runs a self-help group.

The women of this group make items like baskets and mobile stands from milk pouches and other plastic packing materials. Mr Modi said this is becoming a good source of income for them along with ensuring cleanliness.

Prime Minister expressed happiness that the number of tele-consultantations in the E-Sanjeevani App has crossed ten crores. Mr Modi termed it a big achievement. Through the E Sanjeevani App, people can consult doctors through video conference.

Prime Minister highlighted that ten crore consultations through video conference signify the amazing bond between patient and doctor. He congratulated all the doctors and patients who availed of the facility. He called it a living example of how people in India have welcomed technology into their lives.

Prime Minister noted that the power of Digital India is visible in every corner today. Different apps play a big role in taking the power of Digital India to every home. He hailed E Sanjeevani App for being a boon for the people during the COVID period. Mr Modi spoke to Dr Madan Mani from Sikkim to know how effective Tele-consultation has been for the people.

Dr Madan Mani apprised him that through Tele-consultation, doctors in Sikkim connect directly with people in faraway places. He also said that the availability of medicines in the Health and Wellness Centre through the Free Drugs initiative has benefitted many people.

Prime Minister also spoke to Madan Mohan Lal, a resident of Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh, who availed the E Sanjeevani facility. Sharing his experience, Madan Mohan Lal said the App has been of great benefit to him and other patients and proper guidance is given through Teleconference.

The earlier issues of travelling for kilometres, standing in long queues and losing an entire day have been resolved with the availability of E-Sanjeevani. Mr Modi said E-Sanjeevani is becoming a life-saving app for the common man of the country, for the middle class, and for people living in remote hilly areas. He stressed that this is the power of India’s digital revolution.

Prime Minister also expressed pride at the power of India’s UPI, saying that many countries are being drawn towards it. He said that UPI-Pay Now Link was launched between India and Singapore recently.

Now, people of Singapore and India can transfer money from their mobile phones as they do within their own countries.  Mr Modi said Apps like E-Sanjeevani and UPI have proved to be very helpful in raising the Ease of Living of the common man.

The ‘Tribeni Kumbho Mohotshav’ was organized in Bansberia of Hooghly district in West Bengal recently. More than eight lakh devotees participated in it.

Prime Minister termed this as special because this practice was revived after 700 years. He said that although this tradition is thousands of years old, unfortunately, this festival was stopped 700 years ago.

The festival was started again by the local people two years ago. Mr Modi congratulated all the people associated with the festival’s organization. He said they are not only keeping a tradition alive but are also protecting the cultural heritage of India.

Prime Minister said that Tribeni in West Bengal had been known as a holy place for centuries. It finds mention in various Mangalakavya, Vaishnava literature, Shakta literature and other Bangla literary works. He said various historical documents suggest that this region was once a centre of Sanskrit, education and Indian culture. Many saints consider it a holy place for Kumbh Snan on Magh Sankranti.

In Tribeni, there are many Ganga Ghats, Shiva temples and ancient buildings decorated with terracotta architecture. Kumbh Mela was organized in this place last year to restore the cultural heritage of Tribeni and revive the glory of the Kumbh tradition.

Mr Modi emphasised that seven centuries later, the three-day Kumbh Mahasnan and the fair have infused new energy into the region. A large number of people participated in the Ganga Aarti, Rudrabhishek and Yajna which took place every day for three days.

Mr Modi applauded the effort to connect the youth with the golden past of the country. He said there are many other such practices in India, which need to be revived. He hoped that the discussion about them will definitely inspire people in this direction.

In the 98th episode of Mann Ki Baat today, Prime Minister looked back at the programme’s journey so far. He expressed delight that it has become a wonderful platform for public participation. He said the might of the country increases with the strength of the society. He recalled the day when he talked about encouraging traditional sports of India in ‘Mann Ki Baat’. He said that immediately, a wave arose in the country to join Indian Sports, enjoy them, and learn about them.

In ‘Mann Ki Baat’, when the Prime Minister referred to Indian toys, the people of the country readily promoted them. Mr Modi noted that nowadays, Indian toys have become such a craze that their demand has increased even in foreign countries.

When he spoke about Indian ways of story-telling in ‘Mann Ki Baat’, their fame also reached far and wide. People started getting attracted towards the Indian forms of story-telling.

On Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary- ‘Unity Day’- Prime Minister mentioned three competitions in ‘Mann Ki Baat’. These competitions were ‘Geet’ – Patriotic Songs, ‘Lullabies’ and ‘Rangoli’. Mr Modi said more than five lakh people from more than 700 districts across the country participated in this enthusiastically.

Entries were sent in more than 20 languages. Mr Modi congratulated the participants of these competitions. Prime Minister urged the citizens to visit the website of the Ministry of Culture, watch and listen to the entries with their families – and be inspired. Mr Modi also remembered legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, who had urged the countrymen to join in the competitions.

Mr Modi announced that in the lullaby writing competition, the first prize has been won by B.M. Manjunath of Chamrajnagar district in Karnataka. He received this award for his lullaby ‘Malagu Kanda’ written in Kannada. He got the inspiration to write this from the lullabies sung by his mother and grandmother.

Dinesh Gowala, a resident of Kamrup district in Assam, won the second prize in this competition. His lullaby reflects the popular craft of the artisans who make clay and pot vessels locally.

Prime Minister said that in the Rangoli competition, the winning entry was Kamal Kumar from Punjab. He made a Rangoli of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

The winner of the patriotic song competition, T. Vijay Durga is from Andhra Pradesh. She had sent her entry in Telugu. She has been greatly inspired by Narasimha Reddy,  the famous freedom fighter of her region.

Prime Minister also spoke about the ‘Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’ which was conferred recently. These awards were given away to emerging, talented artists in the field of music and performing arts.

Prime Minister said the awardees also include artists who have breathed new life into instruments whose popularity was decreasing with time. He cited one such awardee, Joydeep Mukherjee, who is persevering towards making the Sursingar popular once again.

He also lauded the efforts of Uppalpu Nagmani, who has been awarded in the category of Carnatic Instrumental on the Mandolin. Prime Minister mentioned many of the awardees,  including Sangram Singh Suhas Bhandare who received the award for Warkari Kirtan. V Durga Devi won this award for ‘Karakattam’, an ancient dance form. Another winner of the award, Raj Kumar Nayak, organized the Perini Odissi, which lasted for 101 days in 31 districts of Telangana. Another award winner, Saikhom Surchandra Singh, is known for his mastery in making Meitei Pung Instrument. Pooran Singh is a Divyang Artist, who is popularizing various Music Forms such as –  Rajula-Malushahi, Nyuli, Hudka Bol, and Jagar.

Prime Minister wished everyone a Happy Holi. He reminded listeners to celebrate the festival with the resolve of ‘Vocal for Local’.