New Delhi: Underscoring that the nation has attained new milestones in “gram swaraj” and “panchayati loktantra” in the last eight years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the village heads to make efforts for saturation coverage of welfare schemes, conserving water and making the upcoming Yoga Day special, PTI reported. Days after his regime marked its eighth anniversary, Prime Minister Modi in a letter to the sarpanches listed several issues on which he sought their support while appreciating their contribution, according to the news agency.
The Prime Minister asked them to work to make the eighth International Yoga Day, which falls on July 21, special.
He also asked the sarpanches to encourage everyone in their village to join the exercise.
Urging them to share pictures to inspire others, Prime Minister Modi said they can select an ancient or tourist place or a place near a water body in their area for everyone in the village to do yoga on the day.
The Prime Minister in his letter said people all over the world observe the day enthusiastically, adding pictures of them doing yoga in different corners, from skies to the Himalayas and sea, in the preceding years have made the Indians proud.
He noted that “Yoga for humanity” is the theme of the upcoming Yoga Day.
Prime Minister Modi said the Covid-19 pandemic has made people realise the importance of health in life and how big role yoga can play in this.
Stressing on the need for conserving every drop of water, the Prime Minister while pitching for rain water harvesting measures asked the village heads to continue making collective efforts in the villages in this regard.
He said the nation has resolved to make 75 ‘amrit sarovars’, a reference to water bodies, in every district in the 75th anniversary of its independence to achieve this goal.
Asked the village heads to speed up their efforts to ensure that no one is left out from the benefits of government schemes, Prime Minister Modi wrote: “When every eligible person in the village gets full benefits of schemes, then the village as well as the entire country will prosper.”
He also asked them to continue with the efforts for ‘Swachh Bharat’ with all seriousness.
Throwing light on the issue of ‘gram swaraj’ (village self-rule) and ‘garib kalyan’ (poor’s welfare), the Prime Minister said: “New milestones have been achieved towards gram swaraj and democratic empowerment of panchayats.”
Noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) had recently felicitated ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers, Prime Minister Modi said it is a matter of pride for the villages.