Nation is indebted to Shastri Ji for self-sufficiency in food grains: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar

On the occasion of World Water Day 2023, Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar praised the leadership of former Prime Minister ‘Bharat Ratna’ Late Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji saying his initiative of doing farming at Prime Minister’s residence inspired Indian farmers to attained self-sufficiency in food grain production.

 “Shastri’s personality was incomparable. At the peak of food grain crisis in 1965, he, not only did farming at his official residence, but also exhorted the farmers of country to go to field with a slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ so that as a country we could become self sufficient and never had to depend on others. Like Shastri Ji, today people follow our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,” Shri Tomar said while citing example of how people gave up gas subsidy on PM’s call. Tomar was speaking at a function organized on the occasion of World Water Day 2023 by Dhanuka Group. 

Tomar also unveiled a newly made portrait of Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji and a booklet on his life written by his grand-son Sanjay Nath Singh amid presence of family members of Lal Bahadur Shastri -son  Anil Shastri, grand- Siddhartha Nath Singh and Vibhakar Shastri. .

Other eminent persons who graced the unveiling of Shastri Ji’s portrait were Giriraj Singh, Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Vijay Sampla, Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, former Union Minister, Member of Parliament - Virendra Singh and  Dr. R. S. Paroda, former Secretary, DARE & DG ICAR,  Satya Bhushan Jain, National Vice Chairman, Confederation of All India Traders,  Suresh Jain, Bhartiya Vikas Parishad, and R. G. Agarwal, Chairman, Dhanuka Group among others.

Speaking on the occasion, Tomar said, “Shastri Ji dedicated his entire life for welfare and progress of farmers. If India is self-sufficient (aatma-nirbhar) in food grains today, a lot of credit for this goes to Shastri Ji and it is my honour to unveil a new portrait of Shastri Ji.”

Earlier in the day, Dr. Rabindra Nath Padaria, Joint Director (Extension), ICAR-IARI, New Delhi; R. G. Agarwal, Chairman, Dhanuka Group and Sanjay Nath Singh, Working President, All India Farmers Association & Grandson of Shastri Ji jointly addressed a press conference to highlight the importance of water conservation.

Addressing the press conference, R. G. Agarwal, Chairman, Dhanuka Group said, “It is estimated that 70-80% of water is used for agricultural purposes in India. With ever decreasing groundwater level, there is an utmost need to promote drip and sprinkler irrigation techniques instead of the conventional flood irrigation technique. Such precision irrigation system has enabled countries like Israel, with more than 60% waste land to flourish as a world leader in the agriculture sector producing high-quality and high-yield crops. We as a country need to adopt precision farming in a big way, which will result in saving water, while increasing crop quality, production, and profitability.”

Sanjay Nath Singh, President, All India Farmers Association too expressed similar views and advocated steps, which may enhance farmers’ income and benefit other stakeholders at the same time.  

As part of the celebrations of World Water Day, various documentaries on water and related subjects were showcased to guests, which included policymakers, bureaucrats, academia, representatives of the industry and media among others.