PM Modi talks about sports, festivals, in Mann Ki Baat

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the momentum that sports have picked up in India should continue, as he also greeted people ahead of the festive season, and touched upon several subjects in his radio program Mann Ki Baat.

In the 80th edition of the program aired on Sunday, the Prime Minister paid tribute to hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary, August 29, which is observed as National Sports Day.

"This time, the Olympics have created a major impact. The events at the Olympics are over; the Paralympics are going on. Whatever our country earned in this world of Sports may be little in comparison with the world, but enough has happened to bolster our belief," Prime Minister said.

"In the country now, Sports and Games, sportsman spirit is not to stop. In family life, in social life, in the life of the nation, this momentum has to be accorded permanence…infusing it with energy…" he said.

The comments came as India reached its highest ever medal tally with seven medals at Tokyo Olympics, including a gold won by Neeraj Chopra. On Sunday, table tennis player Bhavina Patel won silver in the women's singles class 4, also taking home India's first medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Prime Minister also greeted the nation ahead of festive season, and talked about Janmashtami and Vishwakarma Puja. He urged people to understand the 'scientific meaning' of festivals.

"Let us celebrate our festivals, understand its scientific meaning, and the connotation behind it. Not only this, there is an underlying message in every festival; there is a Sanskar as well. We not only have to know it, live it and pass it on as a legacy for generations to come," he said.

Prime Minister also talked about Jadurani Dasi, who is a part of ISCKON, and gifted him a book with images of Krishna. He also wished people for the upcoming 'Vishwakarma Jayanti', which is celebrated to worship Vishwakarma, the Hindu god considered to be the divine architect.

Talking about rejuvenation of Sanskrit, he talked about a radio channel from Kevadiya in Gujarat which airs programs in Sanskrit. Lauding the effort, the Prime Minister asked people to share stories of persons engaged in rejuvenating Sanskrit on social media with the hashtag Celebrating Sanskrit.

Talking about the Covid-19 pandemic, the prime minister said over 62 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far, and stressed on "vaccinate and take precautions" as a double pronged strategy against Covid-19.

He also stressed that the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan should remain in focus, and called for cities to become 'water plus'.

"During this Corona period, the myriad aspects of cleanliness that I should have touched upon; I feel, perhaps, that it saw a decrease. I also feel that we should not let the cleanliness campaign diminish even at the slightest," Modi said.

'Water Plus City' means a city where no sewage is dumped into any public water source without treatment.

The Prime Minister also said that the start-up culture is becoming popular, expanding to smaller cities, and it is an indication to a bright future. (UNI)