CM to plant Harishankari sapling in Ayodhya today
Lucknow: Chief Minister
will plant a sapling in
under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign on the occasion of
on Thursday.
The plantation will take place at Pushp Vatika near Ramkatha Park on the banks of the Saryu.
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Similar drives will be conducted across all districts of Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, the environment department will host a special programme at the Regional Science Centre in Aliganj, Lucknow.
According to Ayodhya's divisional forest officer Prakhar Gupta, the Chief Minister will plant a Harishankari sapling, and all preparations for the event are complete.
Following CM Yogi's call, the environment department will involve school children and youth in taking a pledge to "End Plastic Globally" and work towards protecting the environment. The main event in Lucknow will include street plays, speeches, drawing competitions, and training sessions to spread environmental awareness. Experts and volunteers from various organisations will also participate.
Environment director Sushant Sharma stated that all district magistrates have been instructed to conduct similar events in their respective areas.
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Time of India
20 hours ago
- Time of India
Azamgarh got new identity under BJP: CM
Azamgarh/Gorakhpur: Accusing the previous govts of turning Azamgarh into a "terror hub", Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that BJP's double engine govt brought major development to the district giving it a new identity and making it the fortress of "indomitable courage" under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CM on Friday inaugurated the 91.35-km long Gorakhpur Link Expressway, built at a cost of Rs 7,283 crore, from both its start and end points in Azamgarh and Gorakhpur, respectively, and said that the project would boost connectivity and redefine growth. The expressway, which connects Gorakhpur to Lucknow, will reduce travel time to just 3.5 hours, and will also bring down the travel time from Gorakhpur to Delhi by two hours. Besides improving connectivity, the expressway will have industrial clusters along it which will accelerate development in eastern UP. Hitting out at the previous state govts, Yogi claimed that they used to "partner with D-company and Dawood gang instead of development, breached security and made Azamgarh a stronghold of terror"."Before 2017, people did not take the name of Azamgarh as the district once struggled with an identity crisis despite having given two chief ministers to the state. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo They (opposition parties) aligned with underworld elements instead of prioritising development and turned Azamgarh into a hub of terror," he said. "They joined hands with the D-Company and Dawood's gang, compromising with the state's security," the CM alleged, recalling the murder of Ajit Rai in 2007-08 at Shibli National College for standing up for 'Vande Mataram'. "Now, nobody would dare take law into their own hands," he said. "After 2017, the double-engine govt gave a new identity and recognition to Azamgarh's saree, black pottery, and the music heritage of Hariharpur. After Nirahua and Neelam Sonkar became members of parliament, the district witnessed a rapid wave of development," Yogi said. Speaking about the infrastructural development in the state under his govt, Yogi said that in 2017, there were only two expressways, Yamuna Expressway and Agra–Lucknow Expressway, adding that the latter had to be completed by the BJP govt. "Now, the state also boasts of the 340km Purvanchal Expressway, the 300-km Bundelkhand Expressway, and the 91-km Gorakhpur Link Expressway. In addition to these, work is underway on six more expressways, including the 600km Ganga Expressway, Lucknow-Kanpur, and the Ballia link expressway," he added. The CM said that the Delhi-Meerut Expressway had already cut down the travel time between the two cities from three hours to just 40-45 minutes. "The Ganga Expressway will be inaugurated by the PM by the end of this year. By 2047, when India becomes a developed nation, UP will play a leading role as a developed and self-reliant state," Yogi said. "Before 2017, roads in UP were in such poor condition that it was hard to distinguish the road from the potholes. The foundation stone for the Purvanchal Expressway had been laid, but land had not been acquired. The previous govt wanted to build a 110m wide expressway for Rs 15,200 crore, but the double-engine govt built a wider, 120m expressway for Rs 11,800 crore," he said. Drawing a comparison between UP before 2017 and after, the CM spoke about the recent recruitments of 60,244 police personnel, and said that for the first time, youth from every caste and religion, including 12,045 girls, were selected for govt jobs without any recommendations or bribes. "Before 2017, 'chacha-bhatija' used to go out for extortion, but now it's 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'. We are developing industrial clusters along expressways to provide jobs to local youths and giving them the respect and recognition they deserve across the country and the world. Today, the youth no longer struggle for an identity. UP now has 16 airports, including four international airports, and four-lane connectivity across the state," he said. He added that the BJP would not allow national and state security to be compromised under any circumstances and referred to Operation Sindoor, surgical strikes, and air strikes as examples of the resolve of 'New India'. At the other end of the Expressway, where the CM addressed another gathering at Bhagwanpur toll plaza, he spoke about the benefits the expressway would bring to Gorakhpur and other parts of eastern UP. He said that in the past eight years, Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority (GIDA) had attracted investments worth Rs 15,000 crore, generating employment for nearly 40,000 local youth. "With the Gorakhpur Link Expressway now operational, and with Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, and Ganga expressways set to be functional by the end of this year, the UP government is building a network that will redefine growth in the state," he said. "Who would have imagined that areas like Belghat, Khajni and Sikriganj would one day be connected by an expressway? Today, this vision has become reality. While southern Gorakhpur once witnessed large-scale migration, the region is now witnessing signs of industrial growth and job creation, with investment proposals already pouring in," Yogi said. The CM also announced that President Droupadi Murmu would inaugurate the state's first AYUSH University in Bhathat, Gorakhpur, on June 30. He also invited people to participate in the International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21 (Saturday). "Yoga is India's ancient gift to the world, and thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it received global recognition 11 years ago. Let's adopt a healthy routine by embracing yoga. As our scriptures say, the body is the means to all pursuits, so keeping it healthy is our responsibility," he said.
NDTV
a day ago
- NDTV
Opinion: Beyond The Mat - Yoga, The Return To The Centre
What is Yoga? You hear a familiar answer: a way to stay fit, reduce stress, or maybe a sequence of well-practised postures. You see glossy images: flexible bodies on Yoga mats, people meditating with closed eyes and calm faces. The worn-out cliche rings hollow: the union of mind, body and soul. Suppose Yoga were about the physical demonstrations that we are incessantly subjected to. Why would Arjuna, one of the physically fittest and finest warriors of his time, stand helpless on the battlefield? Why would Shri Krishna, the Yogeshwar, speak at length about Yoga not to someone physically unfit or unwell, but to someone already as physically competent as Arjuna? Yoga must mean something else. Yoga Through Krishna: Five Foundational Verses That Define It Let's turn to the Gita, not through interpretations, but through Shri Krishna's own words. These five verses open a different window into what Yoga truly means. 1. Renouncing attachment, and keeping the same attitude towards success and failure, you must act. This equanimity of mind is Yoga. Krishna isn't saying, "Accept whatever happens." He's asking us to drop the idea of winning or losing altogether. Not detachment after chasing goals-but freedom from the need to chase at all. Yoga here is about being free of the inner compulsion to chase outcomes, unaffected by inner turbulence. 2. True Yoga is when action comes from inner clarity - when actions are performed with equanimity and wisdom, they do not bind one. This "clarity" Krishna speaks of isn't about being sharp or strategic. It's the freedom to act without the ego pulling the strings. Even admired actions, if done with self-interest, stir up inner noise. But when action flows from detachment and understanding, it leaves no scar. Whatever quietens the ego is virtue. Whatever feeds it is sin. Yoga is when your core remains undisturbed, even as you act. 3. He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is wise among men; he is a Yogi and a true performer of all actions. Krishna redefines action here. Most of our "doing" is reactive, compulsive, anxious movement without clarity. Though outwardly busy, we're inwardly inert. That's inaction in action. And when something shifts quietly inside - not out of emotion, but out of understanding - that's action in inaction. Yoga begins when we're no longer taken in by appearances and start looking at what's really driving us. 4. When the renunciate, having given up all desires and resolves, is no longer attached to sense objects or actions, then he is truly said to be established in Yoga. A yogi doesn't fight urges, he just sees through them. There's no rush to get something or become someone. He acts when there's clarity, and stays still when there is none. It's not suppression, it's the absence of inner pressure. The one who used to be driven is simply not there anymore. 5. He who is satisfied by knowledge and realisation, who is steady, self-controlled, and regards a lump of clay, a stone, and gold alike-he is a yogi. Here is Krishna's complete image of the yogi: one whose knowledge is not academic, but alive. He is not pretending to be calm - there's nothing left in him to be agitated. He doesn't crave applause, nor does insult shatter him. What's valuable or worthless to the world doesn't disturb his vision. His eyes don't flicker. His mind doesn't chase. That's Yoga. So, What Is Yoga? Yoga is not something you do - it's what remains when falsehood falls away. It is the union, through conscious acsendence, of your current (ordinary and lowly) state with your highest possibility. You can hold a pose, repeat a chant, or study scripture. But if your actions are still driven by fear, comparison, or insecurity, it's not Yoga - it's ego in disguise. Even spirituality can become another of the ego's tactics. That's why Yoga begins in honesty: "Why am I really doing this?" "Is it freeing me, or feeding my image?" Yoga is Not an Isolated Practice - It Must Pervade Your Entire Life It's tempting to treat Yoga like a morning ritual: before coffee, before emails. But it's not a wellness hack. Yoga is a fundamental shift in perception - when you begin seeing through the false. You can't spend your day driven by restlessness and expect peace from a few minutes of breathwork. Yoga isn't an act of willpower. It is submission to truth by way of resolute rejection of the false. Not greater effort, but deeper honesty. That honesty must inform your conversations, decisions, and relationships. Otherwise, it remains just another ritual: comfortable, but hollow. The Ego Can Hijack Yoga The ego is cunning. It will use anything, even Yoga, to sustain itself. You may start with good intent. But soon you want to "master" poses, impress others, be admired for being 'spiritual'. And Yoga becomes another project, another chase. But Yoga isn't here to refine the ego. It is here to dissolve it. When you start asking honestly - What am I chasing? That's when the real practice begins. The Inner Victory Krishna uses the term 'vijitendriya', who has conquered the senses. But victory doesn't mean suppression. You don't overcome the senses by fighting them; you outgrow them. When the ego stops craving pleasure and approval from the world, the senses stop rebelling. When the heart finds something real, the rest naturally settles. It's not denial, it's dissolution. When the false drops, nothing remains to control. This Yoga Day, Don't Just Celebrate. Inquire. Mass gatherings will happen. People will pose, chant, and post hashtags. But real Yoga doesn't begin in a group. It begins with honest observation. So take a moment, not to just display stillness, but to truly understand it. Ask: "Am I more at ease than last year?" "Have I moved toward simplicity or complication?" "Do my actions reflect deeper clarity?" If the answer is yes, even hesitatingly, then something false is already dropping. Stay with it. If not, just see that clearly. That seeing itself is the beginning. Because Yoga isn't a display. It's the quiet undoing of all that is false. (Acharya Prashant, a modern Vedanta exegete and philosopher, is a national bestselling author, columnist, and founder of the PrashantAdvait Foundation. An IIT-IIM alumnus, he is a recipient of the OCND Award from the IIT Delhi Alumni Association for outstanding contribution to national development.)
India Gazette
a day ago
- India Gazette
UP has become land of expressways from bimaru state: UP CM Yogi Adityanath
Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 20 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath hailed the state government on Friday and said that it is working towards fulfilling the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' by the year 2046. CM Yogi asserted that Uttar Pradesh has changed its reputation and has become a state of 'expressways' from a 'bimaru' state. CM Yogi inaugurated the 91.35 km long Gorakhpur Link Expressway in Azamgarh on Friday, connecting several districts to Gorakhpur including Azamgarh. He recalled the time when people were afraid of the name of Azamgarh but expressed his happiness that it has joined the path of 'development'. 'The double engine government of the BJP is working to fulfil the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' by Pradesh has now made its reputation as a state with expressways from a 'Bimaru' years ago, people were afraid to take the name of Azamgarh, has now joined the path of Expressway was inaugurated by PM Modi in 2021', CM Yogi said. Critising the previous state government, CM Yogi Adityanath said that the work of the Agra-Lucknow Expressway was half done but during his tenure projects related to six expressways in the state have been completed. 'The work on the Agra Lucknow Expressway was half done. Today I am happy to tell you that we have completed six projects. You are witnessing the journey of the Purvanchal Expressway. We are continuously building it since 2021. In 2022, the Bundelkhand Expressway has been started. It is 300 km long. The 340 km long Purvanchal Expressway has already been completed and its connectivity to Patna is about to be completed. Now remember how easy the connectivity from Patna to Lucknow and Lucknow to Delhi will become', CM Yogi said. He stated that the 340 km-long Purvanchal Expressway is about to extend its connectivity to Patna. He called freedom fighter Veer Kunwar Singh and said that if the Purvanchal Expressway had been built in 1857, India would have become independent at that time. 'When Veer Kunwar Singh, the hero of the first war of independence in 1857, fought the British till Azamgarh to defeat them, there was no connectivity. If this Purvanchal Expressway had been there at that time, the people of Azamgarh would have beaten the British along with Veer Kunwar Singh and then this country would have become independent in 1857 itself. There was no connectivity at that time', he added. Hailing Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua, during his tenure as the MP of Azamgarh, CM Yogi stated that when he was sent to the Parliament, a music college in Hariharpur was approved. He attacked the opposition and asserted that people who made Azamgarh a 'stronghold' of terror didn't have enough time to honour the black pottery, sarees and music of the district. 'He was sent to the country's parliament, and as soon as Dinesh Lal Yadav became an MP, we approved a music college in Hariharpur. Just think, in Hariharpur, a gharana of this music needed recognition. The Kayan Badal dance was performed by all the MLAs here together, but those who had made Azamgarh a stronghold of terror could not find them. They did not have enough time to honour black pottery, to honour the sarees of Azamgarh, to honour the music department of Hariharpur village, to give a university to Azamgarh, to connect Azamgarh with air connectivity', CM Yogi added. (ANI)
