JK journalists VBSY tour concludes on a positive note
Srinagar: In a bid to highlight the success stories of the beneficiaries of various government schemes, in Lucknow, Utter Pradesh, a 13-member team of journalists from various media organizations of Jammu and Kashmir was on a 5 day media tour to the state. The team held meetings, interactions and first-hand account of affairs under Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (YBSY).
The Media tour was organised jointly by Press Information Bureau, Srinagar in collaboration with PIB Lucknow and offered a rich itinerary to the visiting journalists that included official meetings, field tours and interactions with the beneficiaries- all curated in a balanced manner. Besides, the organisers didn’t miss to include the fantastic Awadhi cuisine- highlight being the Tunday Kebaabs. The team of journalists also visited some of the historic and architectural marvels including the famous Bada Imaam Bada, Ameena Bazar as well as Rumi Gate. Later a trip to Fatehpur Sikri as well as the world famouse Taj was also organised.
The officials of PIB Lucknow including Vijay Kumar- Additional Director General, Manoj Verma- Director, Dilip Shukla- Joint Director, Sundaram Chaurasia- Media and Communication Officer, welcomes the delegation of journalists at the PIB office and presented bouquets. Tariq Rather- Deputy Director PIB Srinagar who accompanied the JK media team coordinated the tour.
While the main objective of the tour was to highlight the efficiency of the process of dispensation of various developmental schemes on ground levels and the impetus given to it by YBSY, the journalists were also facilitated to meet some iconic agricultural figures including Padma Shree Ram Saran Verma, the revolutionary farmer. Verma is likely to visit Kashmir to interact with the farmers as well as officials of agriculture here.
Pertinent to mention here that Verma’s farming techniques have been studied and replicated across his state. In 2019, he was honored India’s fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri. About Kashmir, Verma believes that diversification and the cultivation of cold-season crops would help the farmers to not only minimise the losses but excel in productivity and profit.
During the media tour, the team of journalists met Utter Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary – Agriculture, Devesh Chaturvedi who stressed on the fact that YBSY was transforming the rural as well as urban landscape of India as people were on way to realising the full potential of welfare schemes.
During a detailed interaction with media team, Chaturveda briefed about the promotion of central schemes and governments resolve to bringing them to the masses, stating that 604 campaign vehicles were running in the rural areas of the state of Utter Pradesh under the VBSY and programs were organized in more than 39 thousand gram panchayats, till date. “So far, more than 2 crore 70 lakh people have participated in these programs and camps organized here,” he added.
In another programme organized at ‘Yogananda Girls Inter College’, speakers including Ram Chandra Pradhan, Member Legislative Council, Anjani Srivastava, Anoop Kamal Saxena (Councillor), Abhishek Khare (District Convenor VBSY), Satendra Singh (Co-Convenor), Ajay Soni, (Mandal President) spoke at length about VBSY and how it had impacted the lives of poor and the marginalised.
The speakers stressed that Modi led government had transformed the lives of people across the economic divide and those living on the margins were successfully brought on the developmental map owing to the appropriate and well though schemes aimed at uplifting the poor.
During the media tour, the media team also visited Barabanki district of Lucknow and held interactions with the officials. Barabanki District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar, Chief Development Officer Ekta Singh, under the chairmanship of Manoj Kumar Verma, Director of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, highlighted the achievements of the district and the vibrancy that VBSY had brought to the developmental scenario here.
The team of journalists were informed that there will be an investment of Rs. 20 thousand crores in various sectors in Barabanki, out of which 50% investment will be in the field of agriculture. “4.69 lakh people in Barabanki are under Kisan Samman Nidhi, 16.8 lakh are beneficiaries of schemes like Ayushman Card etc,” District Magistrate, Satyendra Kumar said.
The country-wide yatra was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Khunti, Jharkhand on 15 November 2023, more than 43 lakh 41 thousand people have benefited from various rural government schemes in the state of Utter Pradesh alone.
