Astronaut Shukla urges youths to own dreams for India's space missions, other goals
New Delhi (PTI): Describing them as future makers of the nation, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Sunday urged youths to start owning dreams, whether in human spaceflight missions or other spheres, and work collectively towards realising them.
Shukla visited the National Cadet Corps' (NCC) Republic Day Camp at Delhi Cantonment on Sunday and interacted with the cadets.
The astronaut urged them not to let a few failures define them and to keep working towards the goals they set in life.
Shukla, a group captain with the Indian Air Force (IAF), referred to a famous line from the Hollywood animation movie 'Finding Nemo', and told the gathering of uniformed youths to “keep swimming” in the ocean of life.
Later, he also interacted with some mediapersons and reiterated his expectations from the Indian youth, especially when India has set an ambitious goal of becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.
Shukla returned to Earth on July 15 last year following the successful completion of a historic 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Launched on June 25 last year, the project with Shukla as a mission pilot marked the first occasion when an Indian astronaut travelled to the ISS.
“The first Indian who went to space was Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984, and it took 41 years before another Indian travelled to space. But now, I think, the youths are very excited about space, and also show an inclination to do things to achieve any big goal,” he told reporters.
In his address and later in response to queries from reporters, Shukla urged the youths to start owning dreams for the nation and its aspirations.
“So, if it is about the vision of sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040, one will have to say, ‘it is my responsibility’ to ensure it happens, or for any other aspirations for that matter,” Shukla said.
India’s long-term ambitions in space include setting up the Bharatiya Antariksha Station by 2035 and sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040.
Shukla also asserted that if people of the nation can put their heart and soul together, and work collectively, “we can achieve the Viksit Bharat dream even before 2047”.
He also recalled that the capsule in which he was launched into space took off from the same complex that was used when Neil Armstrong embarked on the historic mission to the Moon in 1969.
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Siddaramaiah seeks Centre's urgent intervention over commercial LPG cylinder shortage
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday sought the Centre's urgent intervention to ensure supply of adequate commercial LPG cyclinders to hotels and restaurants in Bengaluru.
He said hotels, restaurants and catering establishments in the city would be forced to suspend operations if supplies are not restored, affecting a large number of students and working professionals who depend on them for regular meals.
In his letter to Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, he also requested him to issue appropriate directions to the oil marketing companies to address the current supply constraints that would help ease the situation.
Referring to the March 9 order issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas prioritising LPG supply for domestic consumers, Siddaramaiah said while the intention behind the order to ensure uninterrupted LPG supply to households across the country is well understood and appreciated, its implementation appears to have led to an unintended shortage of commercial LPG in Bengaluru.
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He cited that several hotels and restaurant associations in the city have reported that they are unable to procure commercial LPG cylinders, and many establishments are expressing concern that they may have to temporarily shut operations if supplies are not restored soon.
Bengaluru has a large ecosystem of small restaurants, mess facilities, and catering units that serve lakhs of people every day.
According to him, as per the discussions held with the oil marketing companies, the state's commercial LPG demand has traditionally been supported by supplies from the three OMCs-IOCL (around 500-550 MT per day), HPCL (around 300 MT per day) and BPCL (around 230 MT per day) and the sudden disruption of this supply is now severely affecting hotels, catering establishments and other commercial users in Bengaluru.
Any disruption to their functioning will have a direct impact on daily life in the city, he said.
"This issue also affects a large number of students and working professionals who live away from their homes and depend on hotels and mess facilities for regular meals. In addition, Choultries (wedding halls), hostels, and event venues that rely on commercial LPG for food preparation are also facing uncertainty, particularly with scheduled social and community events," the chief minister said in the letter.
Given the scale of dependence on commercial LPG in a metropolitan city like Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah sought the union minister's intervention to ensure that adequate commercial LPG supply is made available to hotels, restaurants, choultries, community halls and any other pure commercial establishments.
"Appropriate directions to the oil marketing companies to address the current supply constraints would help ease the situation. A timely resolution will help ensure that businesses continue to operate smoothly while also avoiding inconvenience to thousands of people who rely on these services on a daily basis," he added.
