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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the country through his 8th Episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat 2.0’ on January 26, 2020. We are publishing the highlights of the address :
My dear countrymen, we touched upon the Mann Ki Baat Charter. The ethos of public participation, besides in the area of sanitation, is rising rapidly on another front… and that is water conservation. Quite a few extensive & innovative efforts are under way, in every corner of the country, for the sake of conserving water. It gives me joy to let you know that the Jal-Shakti Campaign that commenced last monsoon is taking rapid, successful strides with the aid of public participation. A large number of lakes & ponds have been built. And the best part is that in this campaign, people from all strata of society contributed wholeheartedly. Take for instance Jalore district in Rajasthan. There, two historical step wells had turned into storehouses of garbage & dirty water. But one fine day, hundreds of people from Bhadraayun & Thanawala Panchayats took a resolve to rejuvenate them, under the Jal Shakti Campaign. Much before the rains, people immersed themselves in the task of cleaning out the accumulated filthy water, garbage and morass. For this campaign, some donated money; others their labour & sweat. As a result, these step wells have turned into their lifelines now. A similar story comes across from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh.
• Village Suniyakot along the Almora-Haldwani highway in Uttarakhand has also emerged as a similar example of public participation. To tide over an acute water crisis, villagers took it upon themselves to ensure that water reached their village. There was no stopping to their resolve. People raised money among themselves. The plan was followed by collective donation of labour and from almost a kilometre away, a pipe was laid upto the village. A pumping station was set up. By and by, a two decade old agonizing problem came to an end.
• Whereas, a very innovative idea of harnessing a borewell for rainwater harvesting sprung up from Tamilnadu. The country is replete with innumerable such stories, of water conservation, lending more strength to the resolves of New India. Today the entire country is eager to hear similar accomplishments of our Jal Shakti champions. I urge you to share without fail, stories, photos & videos of such endeavours of water conservation and water harvesting undertaken by you or those around you using #Jalshakti4India.
• Friends, next month, the first edition of ‘Khelo India University Games’ is being organized in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, Odisha from 22nd February to 1st March. And more than 3000 players have qualified for participating in these games.
• My dear countrymen, the exam season has arrived, and obviously all the students will be busy giving final shape to their preparations. After my experience with millions of students of the country through the platform of ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’, I can say with confidence that the youth of the country is brimming with self-confidence and is ready to face every challenge.
• My dear countrymen, in March last year, a video had become the centre of attention in the media and the social media. The buzz was about how a 107 year old elderly motherly figure broke the protocol to bless the President. This lady was Saalumarada Timmakka, who is famous in Karnataka as ‘Vriksha Maataa’ (Tree Mother). And the ceremony was the Padma Awards distribution. The country recognised and honoured the extraordinary contribution of Timmakka who comes from an ordinary background. She was being decorated with the Padma Shri award ceremony.