Pongal now a global festival: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said Pongal has become a global festival and Tamil culture is a shared heritage of the entire nation.
Modi also said that Pongal teaches people that gratitude towards nature should not be limited to words, but should become part of daily lives.
"Today, Pongal has become a global festival. Last year, I had the chance to attend several programmes related to Tamil culture, which is shared heritage of not just India but the entire world," he said at a Pongal celebration at the residence of Union Minister L Murugan here.
The prime minister said that in Tamil culture, the farmer is regarded as the foundation of life.
"The Thirukkural speaks in detail about agriculture and the importance of farmers," he said.
Modi said Pongal inspires people to make respect for nature a way of life.
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Formulate model SOP for trekking safety in Karnataka: Minister Khandre tells officials
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre has instructed authorities to formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) for trekking safety, intended to serve as a national model.
The Minister issued the instruction in writing to the chief wildlife warden in the wake of the disappearance of a woman from Kerala in the dense Tadiandamol forest, and the search for a minor girl in Chandradrona hills, his office said in a release on Thursday.
Like the ‘e-Gastu’ app already developed by the Forest Department and the ‘MStripes’ app used in tiger reserves, if a similar kind of app is temporarily installed on the mobile phones of trekkers during the trek, it will be easier to track those who go astray, hence the Forest Minister has directed to take steps to develop the app and provide group insurance to trekkers, it said.
In addition, Khandre has suggested that nature guides should be equipped with wireless communication sets and they should be held accountable for safety and coordination of trekking groups under their supervision, it added.
