Strengthening of the means of Livelihood and Financial Empowerment of People are the foundation of Chhattisgarh’s Development Model: Baghel

Raipur:
In the 23rd episode of the monthly radio programme ‘Lokvaani’ aired today, Chief
minister Bhupesh Baghel addressed people of the state on the topic
“Chhattisgarh Model of Entrepreneurship and People Empowerment”.

In
this episode aired on the birth anniversary of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the great
freedom fighter and the first Prime Minister of independent India, chief minister
said that Pandit Nehru was fond of children, which is why we celebrate Pandit
Nehru’s birthday as Children’s Day. Children used to call him Chacha Nehru. He
wanted to see the new generation of the country flourishing under the umbrella
of his faith. Pandit Nehru had unwavering faith in the new generation.

Addressing
children of the state, Chief Minister said- “Dear children, I would like
you to read, learn about the biography and works of Pandit Nehru and to make
sincere efforts to follow his footsteps. Pandit Nehru laid the foundation of a
new and modern India, he established huge factories, dams, modern educational
institutions for science and technology. Today, these institutions are serving
as the path paver for a brighter future of youngsters in the country, producing
great doctors, engineers and experts in various fields.

In
the today’s episode of Lokvaani on the topic -“Chhattisgarh Model of
Entrepreneurship and People’s Empowerment”, Chief Minister said that the
strategy we adopted to strengthen the means of livelihood and to empower people
of the state financially has gained recognition as ‘Chhattisgarh model’. We
kept ourselves away from the race of ostentatious development and paid
attention to the basic needs, which resulted in development of permanent means
of livelihood and improvement of overall living standard in the state. Be it
the initial period of recession or the COVID crisis and lockdown, we managed to
put nearly Rs 80 thousand crores in the pockets of farmers, forest dependents, laborers,
women’s groups and youth through DBT, under various public welfare schemes. And
they did not just lock that amount in the vault, instead they utilized this
money to meet their needs and do better works. In this way, we as people have
collectively maintained the liquidity of state’s economy. As a result, various
kinds of innovative businesses were started, while the traditional skills and
traditional employment opportunities got a new direction in the state.

Baghel
also discussed in detail the innovations being done at the local level to
create new opportunities of livelihood and employment for the people. Kamla
Rajwade, a resident of Kenapara of Surajpur district, told in her message in
Lokvaani that the initiative taken by the district administration to convert
the closed mine of Kenapara into a pond and floating restaurant has changed the
lives of hundreds of people. She is working as a life guard there. In this
regard, Chief Minister further said that the closed mines are unsafe, after
discussing with the local fishermen’s groups, possibilities of its better use
were explored.

Baghel
said that our cities can become prosperous only when the villages of our state
prosper. This is the path of development for Chhattisgarh. This is the measure
of success for Chhattisgarh model. Chief Minister said that the steps we took
to change the face of agriculture in Chhattisgarh, the initiatives taken to
cultivate new resources in villages with the new technology and to improve the
traditional livelihood, by taking inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi’s traditional
development, Pt Nehru’s modern development model, Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s model of
determination, and Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s model of change through technology, have
yielded successful results. Mr. Baghel also mentioned about Vivek Kumar Tiwari,
a resident of village Kusmi of Bemetara district, who is practicing fishery by
constructing a pond in the field, Mr. Shakeel Hussain of Binauri village of
Bilaspur district, who cultivates bananas through mulching method, and the
benefits of papaya cultivation in Bedmapara, Munga and Mamadpal villages of
Bastar.

Chief
Minister appreciated the initiative taken by four youths of Bastar- Ayush
Srivastava, Gaurav Kushwaha, Rishabh Jain, Suyash Sankhla for starting the
e-commerce platform ‘Loka Bazar’. Such innovative initiatives taken by youth of
Bastar will not only economically empower the people of remote villages but
will also provide a good market for the products of rural region. Referring to
the success of Dhamtari’s young ITI professional Gopal Chitalia in Lokvani, Mr.
Baghel said that our new industrial policy for IT sector has attractive
provisions, and more youngsters should come forward to take advantage of it. 

Chief
Minister said that Chhattisgarh Government has taken several steps to revive
the glory and prestige of being a Chhattisgarhiya, which includes the
declaration of public holidays on indigenous festivals such as Hareli,
Teeja-Pora, Karma Jayanti, International Day of Indigenous People and Chhath
Puja. Even today, Chhattisgarh is an agriculture-oriented state with the
traditional value of donating from the new yield of crop. This is the reason
why Chherchhera Punni-Shakambhari Jayanti has been declared as public holidays.
On the occasion, Chief Minister extended greetings and wishes to the people of
the state on Devuthni Ekadashi, Namdev Jayanti, Gurunanak Jayanti, Birth
Anniversary of Indira Gandhi and Dr Syedna Sahab.

Baghel
said that social harmony and unity among all religions and community is our
strength, and to maintain this harmony and peace, we should make collective
efforts to show mutual respect. May our Chhattisgarh remain a stronghold of
all-religion equanimity, said Chief Minister. I have alerted the administration
so that no anti-social element can ever disturb the harmony of our state. We
will neither ignore nor spare those who try to disturb our communal harmony.