Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday dedicated 35 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Plants established under PM CARES, across 35 States and Union Territories, in an event held at AIIMS Rishikesh in Uttarakhand.
With this, all districts of the country will now have commissioned PSA Oxygen Plants to fulfil any medical emergency that may arise such as a third wave of Covid-19.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister noted that Maa Shailputri, the daughter of Himalaya, is worshipped today as it is the first day of the holy festival of Navratri.
“On this day I am here, coming here to bow to this soil, saluting this land of Himalayas, what can be a greater blessing in life than this,” the Prime Minister said.
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Continuing with the significance that today’s date holds for him, the Prime Minister recalled that on this day 20 years ago, he got a new responsibility to serve the public, when he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
He also pointed out that the beginning of this journey coincided with the formation of the Uttarakhand state as he took over as the Gujarat Chief Minister a few months after that. He said he never imagined that he would reach the position of Prime Minister but it has happened with the blessings of the people of the country.
The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the people of the country and Uttarakhand as he entered the 21st year of this unbroken journey as head of government.
Modi expressed happiness that from the land where life-giving forces like Yoga and Ayurveda gained strength, today, oxygen plants are being dedicated.
The Prime Minister said in normal days, India used to produce 900 metric tons of liquid medical oxygen a day. As the demand increased, India increased the production of medical oxygen by more than 10 times. He added that this was an unimaginable goal for any country in the world, but India has achieved it.
The Prime Minister said the facilities India prepared in such a short timespan to fight the Corona pandemic, shows the capability of our country. India has also started rapid and large-scale manufacturing of Corona Vaccine and implemented the world's largest and fastest vaccination campaign.
The Prime Minister said now the government does not wait for the citizens to come to it with their problems and then take any action. He said that this misconception is being removed from the government mindset and system. Now the government goes to the citizens.
The Prime Minister noted that till 6-7 years ago, only a few states had the facility of AIIMS, today work is being done to take AIIMS to every state. He said we are moving fast from 6 AIIMS to build a strong network of 22 AIIMS. It is also the goal of the government that there must be at least one medical college in every district of the country.
He recalled that former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee had fulfilled the dream of the creation of Uttarakhand. Due to his inspiration, today work is being done for improving connectivity infrastructure in the country at an unprecedented speed and scale, the Prime Minister said.
He said before the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, only 1,30,000 households in Uttarakhand had access to tap water. Today piped drinking water has started reaching more than 7,10,000 houses of Uttarakhand. That is, within just 2 years, about 6 lakh houses in the state have got water connections.
The Prime Minister informed that the government is also working very seriously for the interests of every soldier, every ex-serviceman. He added that it is our government that fulfilled the 40 years old demand of our brothers from the armed forces by implementing One Rank One Pension.
