Students must play proactive role in development of society: Adityanath

Gorakhpur: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday advised students to play a proactive role in the development of society instead of only running for jobs after getting degrees.

The chief minister gave the advice to students while addressing the fourth convocation of Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology (MMMUT) here. Adityanath said the convocation ceremony is keeping alive the tradition of 'gurukuls' that motivates students to speak the truth, follow the right path and indulge in self-study, an official release said.

Noting that engineering students can play a major role in various fields, he said students must come forward for the successful implementation of the 'har ghar nal' scheme that is aimed at supplying potable water to every household by 2024.

"Technological institutes must also come forward to help in implementing pollution control measures and also contribute their expertise in building affordable houses for the underprivileged," he said.

Referring to the importance of technology in multiple fields, the chief minister said it has helped tremendously in proper distribution of foodgrains by linking Aadhaar with ration cards and installing electronic point of sale (e-pos) machines at ration shops.

"This has also helped in checking corruption at various levels besides helping the government save crores of rupees. Today, people are able to buy wheat at Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg," he pointed out.

Referring to his efforts to tackle the dreaded encephalitis disease, he said, "I fought a 25-year-long battle against encephalitis. Many people succumbed to this disease between 1977 and 2017. However, after the formation of the BJP government in the state, we launched various awareness drives which have helped in checking the spread of encephalitis."

"Around 50 crore people have been linked to Ayushman Bharat Yojana of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while over 2.5 crore citizens have been given houses," he said.

Earlier, Adityanath expressed gratitude to Governor Anandiben Patel, for coming to Gorakhpur for the first time after assuming office in Raj Bhawan.

The chief minister also congratulated students who were conferred with graduation and post-graduation degrees.

MMMUT Vice Chancellor Srinivas and Principal Secretary (Technical Education) Radha Chauhan were also present on the occasion.