Mann Ki Baat: PM Narendra Modi Stresses on Preventive Healthcare, Lauds Hardworking Citizens For Selfless Service

New Delhi, March 25:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation in his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ urged people to be more conscious about preventive healthcare sayi

New Delhi, March 25:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation in his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ urged people to be more conscious about preventive healthcare saying prevention was not only beneficial for a person but also for his or her family and the society. “Preventive healthcare is most cheap and easy. As much as we are conscious about preventive healthcare, it will be beneficial for the person, his family and society,” PM said.

Prime Minister also stressed on the need for sanitisation because “a healthy India is as vital as clean India”. “I believe that healthy India and clean India are related to each other. The country has moved ahead in the health sector with conventional approach. Earlier, every health related work was the only responsibility of the Union Health Ministry. But in the current scenario, every department, state governments and other departments are working together for healthy India,” PM added.

Speaking about Yoga, PM said that Yoga was a form of preventive healthcare and urged people to start a movement from right now. “Yoga Day will be celebrated on June 21. Can we start working from now to encourage people for Yoga?, asked PM Modi.

The Prime Minister said a major decision was taken in this year’s budget to ensure adequate returns to farmers when the government decided to give at least one-and-a-half times the input costs as MSP for the scheduled crops.  PM Modi said while calculating the MSP, the input cost to be cosidered will include the labour cost, expenditure on machines and animals-also including machine and animals on hire-cost of seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, land revenue, interest on working capital, rent of leased land and even the labour cost of the farmer and his family.

“Further to ensure adequate income to farmers, agriculture marketing reforms are being initiated in a big way. Efforts are being made to link village markets to wholesale market and global market,” he said.

He also thanked the common hard-working people for inspiring many through their selfless service. He also mentioned the names of some of such personalities in his monthly radio address. The Prime Minister praised one doctor, Ajit Mohan Chaudhary, from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, who has been treating patients for free for past one month.

Prime Minister Modi said, “When I heard the story of Kanpur based Dr. Ajit Mohan Choudhary, of how he visits the underprivileged on footpaths and offers free medicines to them, it gives one an opportunity to feel the sense of brotherhood that prevails in the country.”

Prime Minister Modi also lauded Ahmed Ali, a rickshaw-puller from Karimgunj district of Assam, who has established nine schools in his area. “When I read in letters sent by you that how a rickshaw puller from Assam’s Karimganj, Ahmed Ali built nine schools for poor children, it gives me a glimpse into the nation’s willpower,” the Prime Minister said in his 42nd monthly radio address to the nation.

Prime Minister Modi also hailed a taxi driver, Mohammad Saidul Laskar, who had built an affordable hospital at Punri village nearly 40 kilometres from Kolkata, after Saidul’s only sister Marufa Khatoon died a few years ago since they could not afford treatment in a hospital.

“13 years ago, Kolkata’s cab driver Saidul Laskar lost his sister as she could not get the medical facility in time. He then decided to build a hospital so that no poor ever die due to an absence of medical facility. In this mission, Saidul sold jewellery from his home and collected money through donations. His customers also donated to him generously. After 12 years, Saidul built a 30-bed hospital in Punri village near Kolkata. This is the power of new India,” he said.

Mentioning an example of women power, the Prime Minister said, “In Uttar Pradesh, when a woman builds 125 toilets after overcoming steep challenges, inspiring women to exercise their due rights, it gives us a glimpse of ‘Matri-Shakti’, the power of maternal love and caring.”

(With agency inputs)