PM Modi to have dinner in tribal village during Madhya Pradesh visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Madhya Pradesh to launch the Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission for healthcare and kickstart distribution of Ayushman cards in the state which will be followed by a visit to Pakaria village where he will have dinner with the tribals, according to a PMO statement issued this morning.

The visit was scheduled for tomorrow but has now been postponed due to the possibility of heavy rains tomorrow, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in the evening today.

“The Prime Minister’s program has not been cancelled, the new date of his visit will be decided soon according to the weather conditions,” the Chief Minister said.

PM Modi’s trip to the state will start from Bhopal where he will simultaneously launch five Vande Bharat Express trains in the morning. The five semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains are: Rani Kamalapati-Jabalpur Vande Bharat Express; Khajuraho-Bhopal-Indore Vande Bharat Express; Madgaon (Goa)-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express; Dharwad-Bengaluru  Vande Bharat Express; and Hatia-Patna  Vande Bharat Express.

This will be followed by a public programme in Shahdol where the Prime Minister will launch the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission. He will also distribute sickle cell genetic status cards to the beneficiaries, the statement said.

The Mission aims to address the pressing health challenges posed by sickle cell disease, particularly among the tribal population. The launch will mark a crucial milestone in the Government’s ongoing efforts to eliminate sickle cell disease as a public health problem by 2047. The National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission was announced in the Union Budget 2023.  This will be implemented in 278 districts of 17 high focused states in the country namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, and Uttarakhand.

The Prime Minister will kickstart the distribution of about 3.57 crore Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) cards in Madhya Pradesh. The ceremony for the distribution of Ayushman cards is being organised at Urban bodies, Gram panchayats and Development Blocks across the state. The Ayushman card distribution campaign is a step towards realising the Prime Minister’s vision of reaching out to every beneficiary to ensure 100 percent saturation of welfare schemes.

During the programme, the Prime Minister will honour Rani Durgavati on the occasion of the conclusion of ‘Rani Durgavati Gaurav Yatra’. The Yatra is being organised by Madhya Pradesh Government to  popularise Rani Durgavati’s valour and sacrifice. Rani Durgavati, was the ruling queen of Gondwana in the mid-16th century. She is remembered as a brave, fearless and courageous warrior who fought for freedom against the Mughals.

In a unique initiative, the Prime Minister will visit Pakaria village of Shahdol district and interact with leaders of the tribal community, Self-Help Groups, and Captains of Village Football Clubs. The Prime Minister will witness a cultural programme by tribal and folk artists and also have dinner at the village, the PMO statement added.