UP Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Ministers, G Kishan Reddy, Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Cabinet Minister in Sri Lankan Government, Namal Rajapaksa, Buddhist delegation from Sri Lanka, diplomats from Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Lao PDR, Bhutan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Japan, Singapore, Nepal, among others were present on the occasion.

Addressing the event, the Prime Minister noted the auspicious occasion of Ashwin Poornima and the presence of holy relics of Lord Buddha. Welcoming the delegation of Sri Lanka, the Prime Minister recalled the connections between India and Srilanka and talked about emperor Ashoka’s son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra taking the message of Buddhism to Sri Lanka.  He also remarked that it is believed that on this day, ‘Arhat Mahinda’ came back and told his father that Sri Lanka had accepted the Buddha’s message with so much energy. This news had increased the belief that Buddha’s message is for the whole world, Buddha’s Dhamma is for humanity, the Prime Minister said.

Lauding the role of the International Buddhist Confederation in spreading the message of Lord Buddha, the Prime Minister remembered Shri Shakti Sinha for his contribution as DG of the International Buddhist Confederation.  Shri Sinha passed away recently.

The Prime Minister remarked that today is another auspicious occasion – Lord Buddha’s coming back to earth from Tushita heaven. That is why, on Ashwin Purnima today, the monks also complete their three-month ‘Varshavas’. ‘Today I too have had the privilege of ‘chiver daan’ to the Sangh monks after the ‘Varshavas’’, PM said.

The Prime Minister said Buddha is universal because Buddha said to start from within. Buddha’s Buddhatva is a sense of ultimate responsibility. The Prime Minister said today when the world talks about environmental protection, expresses its concern about climate change, then many questions arise with it. But, if we adopt the message of Buddha, then instead of ‘who will do’, ‘what is to be done’ path starts showing itself. The Prime Minister said that Buddha resides in the soul of humanity and is connecting different cultures and countries. India has made this aspect of his teaching part of the journey of its growth. “India never believed in restricting the knowledge, great messages or the thoughts of great souls. Whatever was ours was shared with the entire humanity. That is why, human values like non-violence and compassion are settled in the heart of India so naturally”, the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister said Buddha, even today, is the inspiration of the Constitution of India, Buddha’s Dhamma Chakra is sitting on the tricolour of India and giving us momentum. Even today, if someone goes to the Parliament of India, then this mantra is definitely seen – ‘Dharma Chakra Pravartanaya’, the Prime Minister said.

Talking about the influence of Lord Buddha in Gujarat and, specifically, the Prime Minister’s birthplace, Vadnagar, Shri Modi said Buddha’s influence is visible in western and southern parts of the country in equal measures as the eastern parts.  “Gujarat’s past shows that Buddha was beyond boundaries and directions. Mahatma Gandhi, born in the land of Gujarat was the modern flag-bearer of Buddha’s message of truth and non-violence”, he said.

Quoting Lord Buddha “Appa Deepo Bhava” meaning “be your own lamp”, the Prime Minister said when a person is self-illuminated, then he gives light to the world as well. He added that this is the motivation for India to become self-reliant. This is the inspiration that gives us the strength to participate in the progress of every country in the world. The Prime Minister also remarked that Lord Buddha’s teachings are being taken forward by India in the mantra of Sanka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas.

Addressing the gathering, the PM said that with the medical college in Kushinagar, local aspirations of becoming a doctor or having quality medical infrastructure will be fulfilled. He pointed out that under National Education Policy, the possibility of getting technical education in one’s own language is becoming a reality. This will enable local youth of Kushinagar to realize their dreams, said the PM.

He emphasized that when basic facilities are available, then the courage to dream big and the spirit to fulfil the dreams are born. The one who is homeless, is in a slum, when he gets a pucca house, when there is a toilet in the house, electricity connection, gas connection, water comes from the tap, then the confidence of the poor enhances further. The PM emphasized that the ‘double engine’ government in the state is improving the situation with double strength. He lamented the fact that earlier governments did not care about the dignity and progress of the poor and the ill effects of dynasty politics prevented many good measures from reaching the poorest of the poor.

The PM recalled that Ram Manohar Lohia used to say that – connect karma with compassion, connect it with full compassion. But those who were running the government earlier did not care about the pain of the poor, the earlier government linked their karma with scams and with crimes.

He said that the Union government has started the Swamitva scheme that is going to open new doors of prosperity in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh in future. Under PM Swamitva Yojana, the work of giving the ownership documents of the houses of the village i.e. the ownership of the houses has been started. He also said that with the schemes like toilets and Ujjwala, sisters and daughters are feeling safe and dignified. In PM Awas Yojna, most of the houses are in the name of the women of the house.

Commenting on the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh during the earlier times, the Prime Minister said the policy of the government before 2017 gave a free hand to the mafia for open loot. Today, under the leadership of Yogi ji, the mafia is running around apologizing and the mafias are also suffering the most under the government of Yogi, the Prime Minister remarked.

He said that Uttar Pradesh is the state which has given the maximum number of Prime Ministers to the country. This is the speciality of Uttar Pradesh, however, “the identity of Uttar Pradesh cannot be limited only to this. Uttar Pradesh cannot be confined to 6-7 decades. This is a land whose history is timeless, whose contribution is timeless”. Lord Rama took incarnation on this land; Lord Shri Krishna incarnation also appeared here. 18 Jain Tirthankaras out of 24 had appeared in Uttar Pradesh. He added that in the medieval period, epoch-making personalities like Tulsidas and Kabirdas were also born on this soil. This state has also got the privilege of giving birth to a social reformer like Sant Ravidas, the Prime Minister said.

He said Uttar Pradesh is a region where there are pilgrimages every step of the way, and there is energy in every particle. The work of penning the Vedas and Puranas was done here in Naimisharanya. In the Awadh region itself, there is a pilgrimage like Ayodhya here, he said.

“Our glorious Sikh Guru tradition also has a deep connection with Uttar Pradesh. The ‘Guru Ka Taal’ Gurdwara in Agra is still a witness to the glory of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji, his bravery where he challenged Aurangzeb,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the double engine government is setting new records in procurement from farmers. So far, about Rs 80,000 crore has reached the bank accounts of the farmers of UP for the purchase of the produce. More than Rs 37,000 crore has been deposited in the bank accounts of UP farmers from PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, the PM said.

Kushinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Kushinagar International Airport on Wednesday. Addressing the gathering, the PM said that India is the centre of the faith of Buddhist society around the world. He termed the facility of Kushinagar International Airport as a tribute to their devotion. This region, the Prime Minister said, is witness to the entire journey from the enlightenment of Lord Buddha to Mahaparinirvana. Today this important region is getting directly connected to the world, he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted the special focus on the development of the places associated with Lord Buddha through better connectivity and the creation of facilities for the devotees. He welcomed the Sri Lankan flight and delegation that landed at Kushinagar. Paying tribute to Maharshi Valmiki on his Jayanti today, the PM said that the country is marching on the path of Sabka Vikas with the help of Sabka Satha and Sabka Prayas.

The Prime Minister said that tourism in all its forms, whether for faith or for leisure, needs modern infrastructure complete with rail, road, airways, waterways, hotels, hospitals, internet connectivity, hygiene, sewage treatment and renewable energy ensuring a clean environment. “All these are interconnected and it is important to work on all these simultaneously. Today’s 21st century India is moving ahead with this approach only”, the Prime Minister said.

He announced that under the UDAN scheme, more than 900 new routes have been approved in the last few years, out of which air service has already started on more than 350 routes. More than 50 new airports or those which were not in service earlier, have been made operational.

The Prime Minister highlighted the development regarding the aviation sector in Uttar Pradesh as air connectivity is constantly improving in the state. In Uttar Pradesh, 8 airports are already functional before Kushinagar airport. Work is on Jewar International Airport after Lucknow, Varanasi and Kushinagar. Apart from that, airport projects are going on in Ayodhya, Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Moradabad and Shravasti.

Referring to the recent decision on Air India, the Prime Minister remarked that the step will help in running the country’s aviation sector professionally and prioritizing convenience and safety. “This step will give new energy to the aviation sector of India. One such major reform is related to the opening of defence airspace for civil use”, he added. This step will reduce the distance on various air routes. The Prime Minister also conveyed that the recently launched drone policy is going to bring life-changing transformation in the fields ranging from agriculture to health, to disaster management to defence.

The Prime Minister said that recently launched PM Gatishakti – National Master Plan will not only improve governance but also ensure that all modes of transport such as road, rail, air etc should support each other and increase each other’s capacity.

Lucknow: High recoveries and a low number of fresh Covid-19 cases have reduced the Active Covid Caseload in Uttar Pradesh to 159, while the percentage of active cases as against the total confirmed cases in the state remains at 0 percent.

The Active Covid-19 cases in the most populous state has been reduced by over a remarkable 99 percent from its peak capped at 3,10,783 cases earlier in the month of April.

On the contrary, states such as Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu having even less than half of UP’s population, account for a heavy Active Caseload of 1,41,211, 35,955 and 17,046, respectively.

In another significant development, the Active Covid-19 cases have declined to zero in as many as 31 districts. Whereas about 21 districts of the state are just left with a single active case each.

With emphasis on strict screening, proper treatment and aggressive vaccination, districts, namely, Amethi, Amroha, Baghpat, Ballia, Balrampur, Etah, Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Ghazipur, Gonda, Hamirpur, Hapur, Hardoi, Hathras, Jalaun, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Kasganj, Lakhimpur-Kheri, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Mainpuri, There is not a single patient of Kovid left in Mau, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Rampur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Shravasti, Varanasi, Sitapur and Unnao have completely eliminated cases of coronavirus.

It is pertinent to note that apart from Uttar Pradesh, no other state provides data describing covid situation district-wise. In what comes as another big relief, none of the 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh have reported fresh cases of coronavirus infection in double-digits lately.

Signaling effective control on the spread of Covid-19, the state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday recorded as many as 13 fresh cases. The Fresh cases have declined by more than 38,000 from its peak which was 38,055 on April 24. The state has also been able to restrict the daily Covid case-count below 50 for over 50 days in a row.

The lesser number of fresh cases, however, is not because Uttar Pradesh, like other states, has decreased COVID-19 testing. UP under its stringent T3 testing mechanism-’Trace, Test and Treat’ continues to expand the testing capacity across the state.

The last 24 hours saw a total of 173,377 tests being conducted. Uttar Pradesh has so far conducted over 7.91 Cr (7,91,30,216) cumulative tests.

Continuing its positive recovery trend, Uttar Pradesh also saw as many as 7 Covid-19 patients discharged, adding up to the recovery of 16,86,804 people so far.

Consequently, the daily test positivity rate (TPR) in Uttar Pradesh too has dipped to lower than 0.01 percent from a high of over 16.84 percent in April.

UP close to administering 11 crore Vaccine doses

Making a rapid stride towards elimination of coronavirus, with over 10,91,58,742 doses administered, Uttar Pradesh is leading the country’s vaccination drive at a war-footing.

In addition, the state has also achieved the landmark of administering the first dose of the covid-19 vaccine to over 59 percent of the eligible adult population. As many as 8,75,06,858 people have been inoculated with the first dose and over 2.16 crore people in the state have been fully vaccinated.

Varanasi: In another effort to keep the Ganga clean and pollution-free, the Uttar Pradesh government, under the Namami Gange campaign, will begin the practice of River Ranching.

To sustain and conserve the biodiversity in the holy river and to ensure its cleanliness, under the Namami Gange campaign, an action plan has been formulated, according to which about 15 lakh fishes of different species will be released into the river by the Department of Fisheries. These fishes will be released in about 12 districts ranging from eastern Uttar Pradesh to the western Uttar Pradesh. River Ranching will help in achieving sustainable fisheries, reducing habitat degradation, conserving biodiversity, maximizing social-economic benefits, and will also remove factors causing pollution.

The Yogi government has left no stone unturned to meet its resolve of making Ganga pollution-free. Ensuring the cleanliness of the river, the government also constructed sewage treatment plants (STPs) to eliminate flow of untreated sewage into Ganga under the Namami Gange campaign. To monitor pollution along the river, the government also deployed Ganga Task Force, in continuation to these efforts, the government will now incorporate River ranching to keep the Ganga clean while maintaining the ecosystem of the river. The government will release 15 lakh fishes into rivers in 12 districts, namely Ghazipur, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Kanpur, Hardoi, Bahraich, Bulandshahr, Amroha and Bijnor. Nearly 1.5 lakh fishes each will be released in Ganga from Varanasi and Ghazipur districts.

Principal Secretary, Namami Gange, Anurag Srivastava informed that the practice of river ranching is a part of the efforts being made for cleanliness of Ganga and conservation of groundwater.

NS Rahmani, Deputy Director, Department of Fisheries said that the activity of ‘river ranching’ is also used to control pollution and to improve marine life in the river. In this activity, different species of fish are released in the river, which destroy the factors that increase the levels of nitrogen. These fishes will also aid in maintaining the cleanliness of the river as they feed on organic remnants. He added that due to overfishing and pollution in the Ganges, fishes are also decreasing. The fishes have been decreasing from the last 20 years, he said.

NS Rahmani, further informed that about 1500 kg of fishes present in an area of ​​about 4 thousand square meters controls about 1 mg per litre of nitrogen waste. Therefore, the government has decided to release nearly 15 lakh fish into the Ganges to control excess nitrogen in the river. If nitrogen exceeds 100 mg per liter or more, it becomes highly detrimental to the fish diversity of the river. Consequently, the fishes cannot reproduce and lay eggs which leads to their extinction. Through this practice, the released fishes will be made to grow and proliferate for restoration of the fish stock, which will not only protect the aquatic organisms but will also reduce the pollution. By the end of September, fishes such as Rohu, Catla and Mrigal will be released into the Ganges.

According to the NTPC spokesperson, among the four participating teams from NTPC Employee Quality Circle, ‘Nidan LQC’ (C&I department) stood first, while the team ‘Uttarak’ (Chemistry Department) and ‘Sanjeevani Warriors’ from (Medical department) ranked second and third respectively.

Similarly, six teams of contractual employees participated in the programme. The team ‘Prayas’ (C&I) stood first, while team ‘Creative’ (Chemistry department) and team ‘Snehak’ (Operation department) stood second and third respectively.

The winning teams were awarded incentives and trophies by the CGM. The program was judged by Arif Hussain Khan and the internal judges DC Gupta (additional general manager, CHP) and Jagdish Prasad (additional general manager, Safety).

The programme was also attended by CS Srinivas, general manager (Operation & Maintenance), Somnath Chattopadhyay, general manager (Fuel Management), BN Jha, general manager (Maintenance), K Gopala Krishna, general manager (Ash Handling), SK Khare, general manager (Medical). The program was conducted by Manish Soni, deputy general manager, Department of Information Technology and Business Excellence.

The pilot project of National Digital Health Mission had been announced by the PM from the ramparts of Red Fort on 15th August, 2020. Currently, PM-DHM is being implemented in pilot phase in six Union Territories. The nation-wide rollout of PM-DHM coincides with NHA celebrating the third anniversary of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, PM-DHM will create a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide-range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information. The Mission will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent.

The key components of PM-DHM include a health ID for every citizen that will also work as their health account, to which personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application; a Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR) that will act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine. This will ensure ease of doing business for doctors/hospitals and healthcare service providers.

PM-DHM Sandbox, created as a part of the Mission, will act as a framework for technology and product testing that will help organizations, including private players, intending to be a part of National Digital Health Ecosystem become a Health Information Provider or Health Information User or efficiently link with building blocks of PM-DHM.

This Mission will create interoperability within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface in revolutionizing payments. Citizens will only be a click-away from accessing healthcare facilities.

The main speaker Prof. Rameshwar Nath Chaurasia, head, department of Neurology, IMS, BHU spoke about the disease epidemiology, causative factors, symptoms for early identification and current available treatments. According to him, the disease if identified with problem of forgetfulness and other executive functions should reach the doctor for effective treatment.

The principal research scientist Dr. Abhai Kumar Singh told about the study on elderly population done in eastern UP for Alzheimer’s disease screening. He said that the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease is called as Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and techniques like brain imaging, psychological batteries and enzymatic test available for early disease diagnosis. In cases of Alzheimer’s patient, the level of Vitamin D is excessively low which might be very strong factor for disease development, he said, and spokes about the new biomarkers the research group at Neurology elucidated for early identification of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Naveen from Department of Psychology spoke about the role of different brain domains and their psychological function in disease identification and financial burden on care givers occurring due to Alzheimer’s disease. He said that in coming decade Alzheimer’s is going to most prevalent disease.

The welcome address was given by Dr Kavita Pandey and the introduction about the guests was given by Dr. Shilpa Chaudhary, the event was coordinated by Dr. Nishat Afroz from MMV, BHU and the function was presided by the Principal, MMV, BHU Prof. Innu Mehta. The program was attended by many faculties, research scholars and students.

Varanasi: A six-member high-level delegation of Mozambique Railways along with the officials of RITES, a PSU of Indian Railways, visited the Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) on Monday.

The BLW had signed an agreement with the RITES in November 2020 to supply six locomotives to Mozambique. As per the agreement, BLW handed over the sixth and last locomotives to RITES in August 2021.

The high-level delegation of Mozambique Railways comprised of Chairman/CFM Board Miguel Jose Matabel, Chief of cabinet of minister of Transport & Communication Antonio Manuel Mateus, Executive Board Member, Finance CFM Aboobacar Adamo Mussa, Executive Director, CFM-C Antonio Francisco Manuel Bie, Director Railway, CFM-S Teodomiro Angelo, Advisor to the board, CFM Arun Kumar Narasimha Pai.

In a meeting held under the chairmanship of BLW general manager Anjali Goyal, the delegation had detailed technical discussions with the heads of departments regarding the export of locomotives to Mozambique. All issues related to Mozambique locomotives were discussed during the discussion. The delegation also visited various workshop including New Block Shop, Engine Test Shop, Loco Assembly Shop, and inspected the process related to engine production and available manufacturing facilities.

The Cape Gauge Diesel Locos exported to Mozambique are manufactured in India and financed by India. This is BLW’s first AC-AC Traction System 3000 HP, Cape Gauge Loco. The capacity of these locomotives is 2255 tonnes at a speed of 100 kmph. The most important item of the engine -the crank-case assembly is made in-house at BLW. These were exported through RITES Limited.

Varanasi: The Varanasi region of Postal department has set a new record in Aadhaar Enabled Payment System under India Post Payments Bank. During the two-day all India campaign, against the allotted target of Rs 2.79 crore, it has secured the first position in Uttar Pradesh and fourth in the PAN India by completing transactions of Rs 5.3 crore, which is 193 percent more than the total target.

The Postmaster General of Varanasi region, Krishna Kumar Yadav encouraged all the divisional superintendents and managers of India Post Payments Bank. He said that during this campaign, which was held on September 16 and 17, more 10,000 people in Varanasi region were benefitted on the lines of ‘Aapka Bank, Aapke Dwar’. Under this, from door-step to shop, farms, streets to boats in rivers, an amount of Rs.5.3 crore was provided to the people by withdrawing them from their bank accounts.

Yadav informed that through Aadhaar Enabled Payment System, India Post Payments Bank is providing door-to-door withdrawal facility by postmen and Gramin Dak Sevaks to withdraw money from Aadhaar linked bank accounts of people. People sitting at home are now able to withdraw the DBT amount sent under social security schemes through the postman of their area, for this there is no need to go to any bank or ATM. Mr. Yadav informed that during this financial year (from April-2021) during the Corona pandemic, so far about 2.40 lakh people in Varanasi region have withdrawn an amount of Rs 90 crore from their accounts of various banks sitting at home through the Department of Posts. People have taken this initiative of the Department of Posts by realizing ‘Aapka Bank, Aapke Dwar’.

Yadav said that helpless people who are physically handicapped, old or remote rural areas where ATM facility is not available, postman of the postal department are available for withdrawal of money from their bank accounts. Every day an individual can withdraw up to Rs 10,000 from his Aadhaar linked bank account from the micro ATMs available with the postmen.