Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with Chief Ministers of drought affected States for the past couple of weeks was reflected in his Mann Ki Baat address on radio, where he made a strong pitch for a mass movement to save forests and conserve “every drop” of water during the monsoons.
“Most parts of the country are experiencing an intense heatwave. Be it humans, birds or animals, all are troubled. It is only because of environment that such problems continue to increase. Depletion of forests has been going on, trees continue to be cut. In a way, humankind itself destroyed the environment and put has set itself on the path of destruction,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr. Modi mentioned the recent cases of forest fires in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and said the root cause of such incidents is that there are dry leaves and carelessness. “That is why, saving forests and conserving water becomes everybody's responsibility, we must save every drop of water this monsoon season, it is God’s Prasad [benediction],” Mr. Modi said.
The Prime Minsiter said he had departed from past traditions of holding a common meeting with the Chief Ministers and decided to meet them separately to give individual attention to each of them.
Permananent solution
“Whichever party may be in party in any State, it was emphasised that permanent solutions are required to deal with this problem which has been going on long. The focus [of these meetings] was how to have lasting solutions,” Mr. Modi said.
The Prime Minister praised States such as Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat for innovative efforts to save waters and water bodies.
Board exam results
Referring to the results of the CBSE board examinations declared recently, he urged parents to not pressurise their children to get more and more marks.
“Dissatisfaction is a reflection of negative mindset, dissatisfaction can lead to failures. Accept hatever result has come, welcome it and move forward. Life does not stop because of bad marks. The most important thing is not to lose confidence,” the Prime Minister said.
Highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's radio address 'Mann ki Baat' on Sunday.
11:30 a.m.: Please do not forget what I said about water, save it.
11:30 a.m.: On 21st June, International Day of Yoga I will join a programme in Chandigarh
11:29 a.m: Prevention is better than cure. Yoga Day on June 21 is not merely an event. We should include it in our daily routine for 20-30 min
11:24 a.m.: I want to request all parents and guardians to accept their children's results with a sense of satisfaction & motivate them for future
11:23 a.m.: Why to find negativity in everything. It would be better if everyone celebrated things irrepsective how it's perceived by the society.
11:21 a.m.: A student from MP commented he scored 89% and I was very happy but he said his family was not happy and they wanted him to get 90%. I have read your letter and I am sure there are many like you out there.
11:20 a.m.: Over last few days exam results have been coming. I want to congratulate to all candidates for their scores. I'm also happy to see girl students shine in these exams.
11:20 a.m.: I will say it again, please do not see everything as a win or loss. Its about sportsman spirit and creating the right atmosphere
11:19 a.m.: I am seeing that football's popularity across India is increasing
11:18 a.m.: There were polls, but Sarbanand Sonwal performed his duty as a Sports Minister. This is a big thing.
11:17 a.m.: It is essential to be positive about our athletes. Let us not worry about the results
11:16 a.m.: When we talk about the Olympics we do feel sad about our the medal tally. We need to create the right atmosphere to encourage athletes
11:14 a.m.: By use of JanDhan, Aadhaar and Mobile, we can move towards being a cashless society
11:12 a.m.: World is moving towards a cashless society and more technology is being used
11:10 a.m.: I appeal to the citizens to pledge to not waste water in the months of June, July, August, September
11:08 a.m.: Water is god's gift and we should feel the pain even if a single drop of water is wasted
11:06 a.m.: You must have seen fire incidents in Uttarakhand, HP, J&K and Himalayas; dry leaves, negligence result in such a fire
11:05 a.m.: Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have used technology well to mitigate the drought.
11:05 a.m.: Protecting our water and forests are our duty
11:05 a.m.: So many States have undertaken wonderful efforts to mitigate drought — this is cutting across party lines
11:04 a.m.: I decided to meet every CM individually as opposed to calling all CMs together and having one meeting
11:03 a.m.: I got the opportunity to meet CMs of drought-affected States
11:02 a.m.: Temperature is rising, and there's tension after the media has reported that monsoon will get delayed by one week
11:00 a.m.: I'm happy to see that people who listen to Mann ki Baat convey their sentiments to me through letters, mygov website, narendramodi app
