GORAKHPUR (UP): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that the world is surprised by India’s rapid pace of progress despite COVID.
The CM, who was addressing the closing ceremony of Maharana Pratap Shiksha Parishad (MPSP) here, said the new India provided houses to the poor more than the population of Australia.
“The population of Australia is around 30 million and in India, houses for 30 million poor people have been built in the last few years,” he said,
India provided free ration to 800 million people during the COVID pandemic, more than the combined population of all the countries of America and the European Union, he said.
Adityanath also presided over a prize distribution programme organised at the conclusion of the celebrations.
He said that when the whole world was battered by the coronavirus, India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with “strong will and the spirit to face challenges”, made excellent management to contain the virus, while also ensuring that the development and public welfare work doesn’t stop.
Adityanath lauded the Prime Minister for presenting a “unique example” with a new National Education Policy and turning India into the “fastest growing economy and fifth largest economy of the world.”
He termed India’s leadership of G-20 as an “unprecedented achievement” saying that the group comprises countries that represent 60 per cent of the world’s population, 75 per cent of trade, 85 per cent of GDP, and 95 per cent of patents.
“The theme of the G-20 under the leadership of India is – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. Our country has always given importance to this feeling. India has given shelter to every religion in times of trouble,” he said.
The Chief Minister further said that India, under the leadership of PM Modi achieved the feat of developing two vaccines for the novel coronavirus within nine months of the outbreak of the pandemic, making it available to people “free of cost”, even though it had taken 100 years for the vaccine for encephalitis, which claimed lives of thousands of children every year, to arrive in India.
He said that the encephalitis vaccine was made in Japan in 1905, but in eastern Uttar Pradesh, its vaccinations had started only in 2006.
During his address, Adityanath advised the educational institutions to come out of their neutral role and engage with practicality.
He said that according to today’s requirements, educational institutions will have to move towards practical information rather than staying confined to the classroom.
He said that 23,600 people died in Uttar Pradesh during the pandemic, while the same number of deaths occur in road accidents in a year. Speeding, not using helmet, seat belts, and wrong road engineering, are the reasons for this, he claimed.
He said that educational institutions can reduce the number of deaths in road accidents by including an awareness session on traffic rules in the prayer meeting.
Speaking as the chief guest, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla praised Adityanath for giving a new direction to the development in the state, and credited him for making Uttar Pradesh “a wonderful investment destination.”
Birla said that Adityanath has worked in the area of industry, services, education, health and technology with farsightedness.
UP is bigger than many countries and peace prevails here. Due to strong law and order situation strong and just and non-discriminatory society, people of the world are selecting the state as investment destination, he said.
“The CM dreams to make the place the highest employment providing state which was known for migration,” he added. (PTI)
