10-Apr-2022: PM  addresses 14th Foundation Day celebration of Umiya Mata Temple at Gathila, Junagadh on the occasion of Ram Navami

On the occasion of Ram Navami, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the 14th Foundation Day celebration at Umiya Mata Temple at Gathila, Junagadh in Gujarat today via video conferencing. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel and Union Minister Shri Parshottam Rupala were among those present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister greeted the gathering on the auspicious occasion of the foundation day of the temple and Ram Navami. The Prime Minister wished on the auspicious occasion of Chaitra Navratri that Maa Siddhidatri fulfil all the wishes of the devotees. He also bowed to the holy land of Girnar. The Prime Minister told the gathering that he has always felt their collective strength and concern for the betterment of the state and the country. He also said that Ram Navami is being celebrated at a grand scale in Ayodhya and in the entire country. He also expressed gratitude for getting an opportunity of dedicating the temple in 2008 and to pay obeisance to Maa Umiya for last many years.

The Prime Minister expressed happiness that apart from being important place of spiritual and divine importance, Umiya Mata Temple at Gathila has become a place of social consciousness and tourism. By the grace of Maa Umiya, said the Prime Minister, society and devotees have undertaken many great tasks.

The Prime Minister noted that as a devotee of Maa Umiya, it is not possible for people to cause any damage to the mother earth. As we do not feed unnecessary medicines to our mother, we should not use unnecessary chemicals on our land too, he said. He talked about measures to preserve land area like water preservation schemes like per drop more crop. He recalled the Jan Andolan undertaken during his tenure as Chief Minister of the state. He said we cannot afford to  relax on the movement of water preservation. He also said that mother earth needs to be protected from chemicals. He reiterated the need to promote natural farming. He said as he and Keshubhai worked for water, current Chief Minister is working for mother earth.

The Prime Minister also expressed happiness that by the grace of the Maa Umiya and other deities and by the efforts of the government, gender ratio improved and Beti Bachao movement showed good result. He noted that a large number of girls from Gujarat are representing the country in Olympics. He also emphasized the need to be active against malnutrition among children and girls. He emphasized the need to take special care of nutrition of the expecting mothers. Pain of malnutrition needs to be completely eradicated, he stressed.  Shri Modi asked for healthy baby competition in the villages by the temple trust. He also requested for coaching classes for poor students, spaces and halls of the temple can also be used for yoga camps and classes, he said.

The Prime Minister also reiterated the importance of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and Amrit Kaal. He asked the gathering to raise the awareness and resolve about the shape of the society, village and the country in their hearts. He also stressed his vision of 75 Amrit Sarovars in every district. He said that for the people of Gujarat who had made thousands of check dams, this should not be too big a task but the impact of this effort will be huge. He asked this task to be completed before 15 August, 2023. He asked for social movement for this. He said that social consciousness should be the moving force.

Talking about the occasion of Ram Navami, the Prime Minister said that when we think of Ramchandra ji, we remember Shabri, Kewat and Nishadraj too. They have gained a place of respect in the heart of people over the years. This, the Prime Minister said, teaches us not to let anyone be left behind.

Referring to the efforts during the pandemic, The Prime Minister said that the virus is very deceptive and we have to remain vigilant against this. He said that India has performed an amazing feat of administering 185 crore doses of vaccines. He credited social awareness for this and other movements like Swachhta and  Single Use Plastic reduction. He said that along with spiritual dimension centres of faith play a major role in spreading social consciousness.

Inauguration of the temple was also done by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi  in 2008,  when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Based on suggestions given by the Prime Minister in 2008, temple trust has expanded its scope into various social and health related activities as well such as free cataract operations and free ayurvedic medicines for economically weaker patients etc.

Umiya Maa is considered as the Clan-deity or Kuldevi of the Kadava Patidars.

6-Jan-2022: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates India’s first Open Rock Museum

On the first day of his two-day visit, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today inaugurated India’s first unique “Rock” Museum and later addressed the Hyderabad Scientists at the CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI).

The Open Rock Museum, set up with the aim to educate and enlighten the masses about several lesser known facts, displays around 35 different types of rocks from different parts of India with ages ranging from 3.3 Billion years to around 55 Million years of the Earth’s history. These rocks also represent the deepest part of the earth up to 175 kms of distance from the surface of the earth.

Addressing the galaxy of eminent scientists, Dr Jitendra Singh said that “Big Earth data” occupies the strategic high ground in the era of knowledge economies and India is fully exploiting this new frontier contributing to the advancement of Earth science. He said, geosciences is contributing significantly towards the self-reliance and national priorities in New India.

The Minister said, Science blended with creative innovation brings “ease of living” for the common man and Scientists should adopt out of box thinking to address the problems of the common public. He said, the expectations of society from scientists are ever growing and scientists should continuously be involved in providing the best S&T solutions.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the out of box idea was suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who not only has a natural predilection for science but is also forthcoming in supporting and promoting science and technology-based initiatives and projects.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, when country is celebrating 75 years of Independence as “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, CSIR is celebrating 80 years of its foundation and it is the right time that all ministries and departments who are pursuing science should explore S&T innovations for making India self-reliant in many of the sectors. He emphasised that India should be a global leader in matters ranging from defense to economics with strong scientific and technological inputs in another 25 years when India celebrates 100 years of Independence.

Referring to CSIR-NGRI's future research efforts designed for Deep-Earth and Near-Surface explorations, which are critical to understand the processes responsible for shaping Earth’s structure and dynamics, and for sustenance of life on Earth, respectively, Dr Jitendra Singh expressed hope that with its charted vision and mission, CSIR-NGRI will play a vital and pivotal role in coming years to fulfill the aspirations of the nation.

It may be recalled that Dr Jitendra Singh launched state-of-the-art Heli-borne survey technology for groundwater management, developed by CSIR-NGRI Hyderabad with Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat from Jodhpur in October, last year. To start with, the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana are being taken up for this latest Heli-borne survey, the Minister added.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the water technologies of CSIR from source finding to water treatment will benefit millions of people across the country and positively contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Har Ghar Nal Se Jal”. He said, the latest state-of-the-art technology is being employed by Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) for mapping groundwater sources in arid regions and thus help utilise groundwater for drinking purposes.

Dr Jitendra Singh also released Earthquake Risk Maps of Lucknow and Dehradun Cities and handed over the maps to the Chairpersons or nominees of UPSDMA and UKSDMA on the occasion. He informed that CSIR-NGRI has made earthquake risk maps for Lucknow and Dehradun cities which are vulnerable for future earthquakes in the Indo-Gangetic plains area. The risk maps were prepared by characterising the hazard and its uncertainty, to serve as input for risk assessment and earthquake resistant design for different applications – ranging from private homes to multi-storied buildings and critical infrastructures such as bridges or dams, he added.

Both the maps were shared with Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management authorities who are the main stakeholders. They agreed to use the outcome for revising land use maps with revised hazard components and revise building bye-laws to outlaw unsafe and vulnerable typologies of houses in both the cities.

Director, CSIR-NGRI Hyderabad, Dr V.M. Tiwari gave a resume of the activities of the institute while Director General CSIR Dr Shekhar C. Mande also spoke.