Hope more people will practice yoga in future: Modi
New Delhi, June 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the way people across the world have embraced the International Day of Yoga celebrated on June 21, and hoped that more and more people will come forward to make the practice a part of their lives.
During his 'Mann Ki Baat' address, Modi said the fourth Yoga Day event held on Thursday presented some of "the rarest of sights" as hundreds in the European Parliament in Brussels; in the UN headquarters in New York; and on the Japanese naval warships practiced yoga 'asanas'.
He mentioned the first historic yoga programme that Saudi Arabia witnessed. "I am told many of the yoga postures were demonstrated by women."
He also spoke about the Indian and Chinese soldiers who performed yoga on either side of the border on the snow-capped mountain peaks of Ladakh.
"Yoga breaks all barriers. Zealous citizens of hundreds of lands overlooked divisions of caste, colour, religion and gender to transform the occasion into a massive festival.
"If people from the entire world ardently participate in yoga day programmes, why should not India feel elated?," Modi said.
Talking about the Yoga Day celebrations by the Indian forces, Modi said: "A section of our brave soldiers did yoga in submarines; some chose the snow-clad mountainous terrain of Siachen, others astounded all by performing 'yoga asanas' mid air -- some 15,000 feet above the earth."
Schools, colleges, offices, parks, skyscrapers, playgrounds came alive as yoga venues, he said. "Heart warming was an instance in Ahmedabad, where some 750 'divyang' brothers and sisters assembled to create a world record," he said.
"Yoga has brought about the very essence of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' in letter and spirit," Modi added.
"I believe the concept of wellness today is bringing about a revolution. I hope the campaign of wellness through yoga will gain momentum. More and more people will come forward and make it a part of their lives," Modi said.
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Jhansi fire: Nurse's heroic efforts helped save over dozen babies
Lucknow/Jhansi (UP), Nov 17: Nurse Megha James was on duty when the fire broke out at the Jhansi hospital and she threw herself headlong into the rescue efforts, playing a hero's role by saving several babies.
Even when her salwar got burned, she refused to give up and was able to evacuate 14-15 babies with others' help.
"I had gone to take a syringe to give an injection to a child. When I came back, I saw that the (oxygen) concentrator had caught fire. I called the ward boy, who came with the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But by then, the fire had spread," James said.
Ten babies perished in a fire that broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi Friday night.
Faced with an enormous blaze, James's mind worked with a frenetic speed, to the extent she cared little about burning herself.
"My chappal caught fire and I burned my foot. Then my salwar caught fire. I removed my salwar and discarded it. At that time, my mind was virtually not working," she told PTI Videos.
James just wore another salwar and went back to the rescue operation.
"There was a lot of smoke, and once the lights went out, we could not see anything. The entire staff brought out at least 14-15 children. There were 11 beds in the ward with 23-24 babies," she said.
Had the lights not gone out they could have saved more children, James said. "It all happened very suddenly. None of us had expected it."
Assistant Nursing Superintendent Nalini Sood praised James's valour and recounted bits from how the rescue operation was carried out.
"The hospital staff broke the glasses of the NICU ward to evacuate the babies. It was then Nurse Megha's salwar caught fire. Instead of caring for her safety, she stayed there to rescue the babies and handed them over to people outside," she said.
Sood said James is currently undergoing treatment at the same medical college. She said she did not know the extent of her burns.
"The rescued babies were shifted to a ward very close to the NICU ward… When I recall the scene, I feel like crying," she said.
Dr Anshul Jain, the head of the anaesthesiology department at the medical college, explained the standard rescue operation and claimed the hospital followed the protocol to the T.
"In the triage process during an ICU evacuation, the policy is to evacuate less-affected patients first. The rationale behind this approach is that patients requiring minimal support can be relocated quickly, enabling a larger number of evacuations to be completed in a shorter time.
"In contrast, patients on ventilators or requiring high oxygen support demand more time and resources for evacuation," he said.
"This principle was successfully implemented in Jhansi, playing a significant role in saving many lives," Jain said.
A newborn rescued from the fire died due to illness on Sunday, Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said.
