Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday in his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, highlighted the efforts of the Assam villagers in protecting their crops from the depredations of wild elephants and the dedicated voluntary service of Deepak Nabam of Arunachal Pradesh to the physically challenged and elderly people.
Addressing the 118th episode of his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister said that Deepak Nabam has set a unique example of the spirit of service in Arunachal Pradesh.
He runs a Shelter House at Senki Park in Itanagar where mentally unwell, physically challenged and the elderly people are served, the Prime Minister said, adding that the drug addicts are taken care of here as well.
PM Modi said that Nabam, without any assistance, started a campaign to support the deprived people of the society, violence-affected families and homeless people.
Today, his service has transformed into an organisation which has also been honoured with many awards, the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi said that work done with good intentions and selfless spirit reaches far and wide through word of mouth.
“And our Mann Ki Baat is a huge platform for that. In our vast country, if someone is doing good work even in remote areas and lends the utmost importance to one’s sense of duty, this is the best platform to bring one’s efforts to the fore,” he stated.
The Prime Minister said that whether it is a pet or a wild animal, their relationship with humans sometimes amazes us.
“Animals may not be able to speak but humans can understand their feelings and their gestures very well. Animals also understand the language of love and live by it too.”
Sharing a positive effort of the Assam villagers to prevent the wild elephants from damaging their crops, PM Modi said that Assam’s Nagaon is a habitat to a large number of elephants.
He said many incidents were being noticed in this area where herds of wild elephants used to destroy crops and the farmers used to get upset.
“People of about 100 villages in Nagaon have been facing hardships due to the depredations of wild elephants. But the villagers also understood the elephants’ helplessness. They knew that elephants were intruding fields to satiate their hunger, so the villagers thought of finding a solution to this. A team of villagers was formed, which was named ‘Haathi Bandhu’.
Haathi Bandhu, displaying wisdom, made a unique effort on about 800 bighas of barren land. The villagers together planted Napier grass.
PM Modi said that elephants like the Napier grass very much, resulting in the jumbos reducing their straying towards the fields.
“This is a matter of great relief for thousands of villagers. This effort of theirs has been liked by the elephants as well,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister said that Nagaon is the birthplace of the country’s great luminary, Srimanta Shankardev and the area is very beautiful.
Srimanta Sankardev was a 15th-16th century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet and a playwright.
(IANS)
