Stressing the importance of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that cleanliness, swadeshi and self-reliance were the three basic mantras of Bapu which the BJP Government had adopted in letter and spirit.
Addressing a series of functions organised on Gandhi Jayanti in Lucknow on Tuesday, Yogi said that cleanliness was reflected the way Government had taken up Swachhata campaign while One District One Product (ODOP) scheme would lead to self-reliance and would promote swadeshi.
“When the BJP came to power, our sole motto was to empower the poor. We knew this could be done only through promoting local trade and, therefore, the ODOP scheme was launched under which local artisans could get work in their villages. This will not only stop exodus to cities but also empower rural areas,” the Chief Minister said.
Besides, Yogi said that his Government’s other emphasis was Swachhata. “We should thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching the cleanliness drive. In 2014, the national average of ODF was just 23 per cent which has rocketed to 99 per cent in four-and-a-half years. In UP, till October 2, 34 districts and over 85,000 revenue villages were declared Open Defection Free and by November 30, the entire UP will be declared ODF,” Yogi said urging people to join the campaign in a big way.
The CM said that ODF had led to cleanliness which, in turn, had protected people from the menace of dreaded diseases like encephalitis, diarrhoea, AES and hepatitis.
At the function held at Shilp Gram in Lucknow on Tuesday, 75 rural individuals and 15 organisations were awarded for their works in Swachhata Mission in UP.
Besides, sports persons were also felicitated for their achievement in international meets.
Yogi said that Rs 6 crore cash reward was being given to sports persons from UP for their achievement for the first time. “Such Government initiatives will promote sports and athletes and more sports persons will get this award,” he said.
Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medalists were given Rs 50 lakh, silver medal winners Rs 30 lakh and bronze medalists Rs 15 lakh. Sports persons, who were felictated, included Soni Punia, Satish Kumar, Ravi Kumar, Saurabh, Sadul Rihan, Sudha Singh, Rakesh Kuma, Divya, Kalit Kumar, Santosh Kumar, Rahul Chaudhury, Jitu Rai, Poonam Yadav, Rajat Kumar and a few others. The CM also gave away Gold Card to beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
The function was also attended by Governor Ram Naik. Both the Governor and the CM also flagged off khadi campaign vehicles. The Governor also hailed the BJP Government in the State for working as per Mahatma Gandhi teachings.