Need technology to fight air, soil pollution in Punjab and Haryana: Prez Murmu

President Murmu Inaugurated International Gita Mahotsav, launched e-ticketing system, Nirogi Haryana Scheme and laid foundation stone of a medical college in Sirsa

: Expressing concern over air and soil pollution and depleting ground water in agriculture-dominated states of Punjab and Haryana, President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said that technology is needed to find a solution to these issues and help farmers of the two states which led the Green Revolution and provided food security to the country.

Need technology to fight air, soil pollution in Punjab and Haryana: Prez Murmu

President Murmu is on a two-day visit to Haryana to attend various programmes. She made the comments while addressing a gathering at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra. Earlier in the day, the President formally inaugurated International Gita Mahotsav-2022 and offered prayers at Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra.

“We know that Punjab and Haryana have played a key role in agriculture development in the country as progressive farmers of these states used modern technology and led the Green Revolution to provide food security to the country,” she said.

“Now, these two states are facing the problems of air and soil pollution. Even the depleting ground water table has emerged as a big challenge for the farmers. It is the responsibility of the NIT Kurukshetra to find out a technical solution of these challenges,” the President said, adding that technology should be for the welfare of the public.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen how technology helped to make life easier as people adopt technology for the welfare of the people,” she added.

The President appreciated NIT, Kurukshetra for establishing a state-of-the-art ‘Siemens Centre of Excellence’ in which special emphasis is being laid on smart manufacturing and automation designs and e-mobility.

She said that the establishment of this centre has led to increased collaboration with industry, academia and research and development organisations such as DRDO and BHEL.

More efforts be made to promote teachings of Gita: Prez

Earlier, during her her visit to Brahma Sarovar at Kurukshetra, the president offered prayers as she formally inaugurated the International Gita Mahotsav (IGM)-2022.

Speaking at the International Gita Seminar on ‘World Peace and Harmony’ at the Kurukshetra University, the president said that Gita is a universal Book for the welfare of the mankind and more efforts should be made to promote the teachings of Gita to every nook and corner so that people could imbibe its teachings in real life.

She expressed happiness that Lord Krishna has given her the opportunity to visit Kurukshetra and attend Gita Mahotsav. The President took a walk at the saras mela at Brahma Sarovar to take a look at different stalls.

Hailing the women of Haryana, she said she feels proud of the girls and women of the state who have taken a lead in several international competitions and she was excited about an interaction she was going to have with a group of such women of the state during her visit.

In the presence of Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya and chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the president launched e-ticketing system of the Haryana transport, Nirogi Haryana Scheme. She also virtually laid the foundation stone of a medical college in Sirsa.

Chief minister Khattar presented the first e-ticket to the President, which she accepted with a smile. He said that in the initial phase, the e-ticketing project will be implemented at 6 depots, namely Chandigarh, Karnal, Faridabad, Sonepat, Bhiwani and Sirsa.

On the occasion, the President was also presented with a replica of the National e-Mobility Card as the first ticket. By the end of January 2023, the project will be completely implemented in the remaining 18 depots.

Khattar said that under the Nirogi scheme, health checkups of the people of the state will be conducted.

The President also laid the foundation stone of Sirsa medical college and hospital virtually. The medical college will come up on 21 acres of land at a cost of about ₹ 950 crore. The 539-bed hospital will have 100 MBBS seats.

Security personnel had to face a tough time as there was a huge gathering at the Brahma Sarovar during the President’s visit.

The locals had to face inconvenience as police had diverted heavy traffic from roads leading to Brahma Sarovar.

Choose career of satisfaction: Prez to students

The President also congratulated students at NIT, Kurukshetra, who were conferred degrees and urged them to work hard to achieve their aim.

Exhorting the parents and teachers to prepare students for excellence, the President said that it was the duty of everyone to work for the society and the country as salary packages should not be considered as a yardstick to measure success.

“You need to focus on your real aim and chose career of your satisfaction and meaning,” she told students.