Shun plastics, be sensitive towards nature, says Modi Tea seller who runs school for slum kids can’t believe praise
MANN KI BAAT PM says virtues of being sensitive towards nature and protecting it should be embedded in Indian culture
Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the people to shun low-grade plastic and polythene, saying it was creating a negative impact on the environment, wildlife and the health of the people.
In his monthly radio show ‘Mann Ki Baat’, he asked the people to observe the World Environment Day on June 5 with vigour, and that it was time to concentrate on tree plantation.
Planting saplings is not enough, people should ensure that they care for a plant till it becomes a tree, Modi said.
“Protecting environment and being sensitive towards nature should come naturally. The recent dust storms accompanied by rains was unseasonal. The climate pattern led to the loss of life and property. It’s a result of change in weather pattern.
“Whenever we face a torrid summer or floods, incessant rains or unbearable cold, everyone becomes an expert, analysing global warming and climate change. But does empty talk bring about any solutions? Being sensitive towards nature, protecting nature, should come naturally; these virtues should be embedded in our ‘sanskar’ (culture),” the prime minister said.
He said India was proud to host the World Environment Day this year. This, he said, was an acknowledgment of India’s efforts to lead the world in reducing the effects of climate change.
“The theme this year is ‘beat plastic pollution’. I appeal to you
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not to use low grade plastic and polythene and understand the importance of the theme. It (use of plastic) leaves a negative impact on our nature, the wildlife and our health,” Modi said.
He said when the country speaks of climate justice or plays a major role in the Cop21 and Paris agreements or when it unites the whole world through the medium of International Solar Alliance, they all are rooted in fulfilling the dream of Mahatma Gandhi.
“On this environment day, let all of us give it a good thought as to what can we do to make our planet cleaner and greener. What innovative things can we do.”
Modi also referred to the International Yoga Day on June 21.
Quoting an ancient text, he said practising yogic exercises regularly leads to imbibing benefic attributes which stand by our side like relatives and friends.
The practice of yoga leads to building up of courage, which always protects us like a father. The practice of yoga leads to germination of a sense of forgiveness in the same manner as a mother has for her children and mental peace becomes our permanent friend, Modi said.
The prime minister appealed to the people to adopt the legacy of yoga and create a healthy, happy and harmonious nation.
LAUDS MOUNTAINEERS, ALL-WOMEN NAVY CREW
He congratulated five tribal students for scaling the Mount Everest. The tribal students -- Maneesha Dhurve, Pramesh Ale, Umakant Madhavi, Kavidas Katmode and Vikas Soyam -- from an Ashram School in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur, scaled the world’s highest peak on May 16.
He also praised several others, including 16-year-old Shivangi Pathak, for scaling the Everest.
Pathak became the youngest Indian woman to scale Everest from the Nepal side.
the children of rickshaw-pullers, daily wage earners and municipal drain workers in the millennium city of Cuttack, life would have probably ended in the gutters had Devarapalli Prakash Rao not been around.
The 59-year-old tea seller, whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised during his Mann ki Baat programme on Sunday morning, has been the guardian angel to over 70 slum children for the past 18 years, by helping them get education.
Rao, who runs his shop in Buxi Bazaar area, has been spending more than 50% of his daily income on education and food for the children, who otherwise would have been loafing around in the bylanes of the city.
“I was overwhelmed with joy when PM saheb spoke about me in radio today. I am an ordinary tea seller and never thought in my wildest dreams that Modiji would praise me. Yesterday, he had invited me and the children of my school before his public meeting at Baliyatra ground. During our 18-minute meeting, he enquired about my school like a family member would. He seemed to be tense before the meeting, but he looked relaxed after meeting all of us,” Rao said.
A school dropout himself, Rao started ‘Asha O Ashwasana’ in 2000 when he saw kids in his neighbourhood taking to petty crimes or becoming alcoholics. In the 1960s when his father, a World War II veteran, started a tea shop in Cuttack, he encouraged Rao to help him. Rao’s father thought schools were waste of time.
Rankled by the memories of his incomplete education, Rao started the school but had to face unsupportive parents for whom his interest meant loss of a working member in the family. After much persuasion, they agreed. Today, the school runs classes until third standard, after which students take admission elsewhere. Rao also feeds milk and biscuits to the kids as ‘mid-day meal’ apart from giving them uniform and slippers to wear.
Rao’s wife is a nurse in the SCB Medical College and Hospital and sustains the family with her income as a major part of Rao’s income from the tea stall is spent on the school and the kids.
Rao is also a blood donor. To date, he has donated blood 214 times and platelets 7 times. Rao took to blood donation when he suffered from paralysis in 1976. When he recovered after spending six months in hospital, he learnt that someone had donated blood to save his life. In 1978, he started the process himself.
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