NELLORE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said villages should be the starting point of India’s development, as they were once the repositories of the country’s knowledge, culture, traditions and economic activity. He called for making rural areas the centres of economic prosperity and social empowerment.
Addressing the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Swarna Bharat Trust at Venkatachalam, Yogi Adityanath praised the organisation for its 25 years of dedicated service in rural development and social welfare. He said the Trust’s initiatives reflected the vision of Mahatma Gandhi’s Gram Swaraj and the rural development model associated with Nanaji Deshmukh.
Yogi visited the Akshara Vidyalaya campus and the Soma Skill Development Centre before attending the “Swarna Bharat-Seva Harathi” celebrations. He paid floral tributes to the statues of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Swamy Vivekananda and interacted with students and trainees.
Recalling the role played by former Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu in establishing the Trust in 2001, Yogi stated that he considers him as a versatile leader known for his simplicity and ability to bring people across political and ideological lines together.
Adityanath said Venkaiah Naidu had also served as a cultural bridge between North and South India by promoting Telugu culture and traditions. He said the Swarna Bharat Trust’s 25-year journey and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years in public life coincided with a common objective of building a “Viksit Bharat”. Sustainable change, he said, could be achieved only when governments and society worked together.
He highlighted the Trust’s initiatives in education, healthcare, animal healthcare, women’s empowerment and skill development. Its Bridge School, Akshara Vidyalaya and Swarna Bharat Vidya Mandir were providing education and residential facilities to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He also appreciated the Trust’s training programmes in AutoCAD, GIS and drone technology.
Yogi said Uttar Pradesh had established Atal Awasiya Schools for children of construction workers and those who lost their parents during the Covid-19 pandemic, providing them free education with modern technology. He noted that 50 per cent of seats in these schools were reserved for girls.
Yogi also highlighted skill development and technology-oriented training being provided through the Trust, saying they were helping young people acquire skills.