Days after he called for promotion Lakshadweep as a beach tourism destination, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a fresh pitch for the promotion of domestic tourism.

Addressing a foundation-laying ceremony of Shri Khodaldham Trust-Cancer Hospital in Gujarat via video message, Prime Minister Modi made the following nine-point appeal:

First, save every drop of water and create awareness about water conservation,

Second, create awareness about digital transactions at the village level.

Third, work to make your village, locality, and city number one in cleanliness, Fourth, promote local products and make use of Made-in-India products as much as possible,

Fifth, travel within the country and promote domestic tourism,

Sixth, create awareness among farmers about natural farming,

Seventh, include Shri-Ann in the daily diet,

Eighth, indulge in fitness, yoga, or sports and make it an integral part of life, and

Ninth, stay away from any kind of drugs and addiction.

The prime minister urged the well-to-do class to perform wedding ceremonies in the country and refrain from foreign destination weddings. “Just like Made in India, now Wed in India,” he said.

Highlighting his long-term association with the trust, the prime minister said about 30 new cancer hospitals have been developed in the country in the last nine years, and work is underway on 10 new cancer hospitals.

Noting that treatment of a serious disease like cancer becomes a big challenge for any person and family, the prime minister emphasised that the government is trying to ensure that no patient faces difficulties in cancer treatment.

The prime minister called it a great privilege to connect with the holy land of Khodal Dham and the devotees of Khodal Maa.

He underlined that Shri Khodaldham Trust has taken another important step in the field of public welfare and service with the foundation stone laying of the Cancer Hospital and Research Center in Amreli. Shri Khodaldham Trust-Kagwad will complete 14 years of its establishment and conveyed his best wishes.

Modi informed that the Leuva Patidar community established the Shri Khodaldham Trust with the resolve of service, values and dedication 14 years ago. Since then, the prime minister said the trust has worked to change the lives of millions of people through its service.

“Be it the field of education, agriculture or health, this Trust has done excellent work in every direction,” the prime minister said, expressing the hope that the cancer hospital being built in Amreli would become another example of the spirit of service and will hugely benefit a large area of Saurashtra including Amreli.

The prime minister expressed confidence that the trust will continue to fulfil its responsibilities with full devotion and ability and the cancer hospital being built in Amreli will become an example for the welfare of the entire society. He conveyed his best wishes to Leuva Patidar Samaj and Shri Khodaldham Trust. “By the grace of Mother Khodal, you should continue to engage in social service,” he added.

Modi underlined the importance of detecting cancer at the right stage for its treatment. He pointed out that the disease already starts to spread by the time the people of the villages get diagnosed. To avoid such a situation, the prime minister informed that the Central government has built more than 1.5 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs at the village level where the emphasis is being laid on the early detection of many serious diseases including cancer.

“When cancer is detected early, doctors also get a lot of help in its treatment,” he added. Modi said women have also benefited greatly from the efforts of the Central Government as he mentioned Ayushman Arogya Mandir playing an important role in the initial detection of diseases like cervical cancer or breast cancer.

The prime minister underlined that Gujarat has made unprecedented progress in the health sector in the last 20 years and it has become a huge medical hub of India.

He informed that till 2002, there were only 11 medical colleges in Gujarat whereas today, the number has increased to 40. He further added that the number of MBBS seats here increased almost 5 times in 20 years and the number of PG seats have also increased by about 3 times.”Now, we even have AIIMS in Rajkot,” he said.

The prime minister also pointed out that there were only 13 pharmacy colleges in Gujarat till 2002 whereas their numbers have increased to around 100 today and the number of Diploma Pharmacy Colleges has also increased from 6 to around 30 in the last 20 years.

PM Modi said Gujarat has presented a model of major reforms in the health sector with the opening up of community health centres in every village, thereby extending health facilities to tribal and poor areas. “People’s trust in the facility of 108 ambulances in Gujarat has continuously strengthened,” he added.