New Delhi: The Vice-President, M Venkaiah Naidu, returned to New Delhi after a four-day tour of Rajasthan. Naidu visited cultural, historic and frontier locations in Rajasthan. He also interacted with agricultural scientists and was briefed upon the new varieties developed for dryland farming.
Naidu began his trip by visiting the famous Tanot Mata temple in Jaisalmer where he offered prayers, along with his spouse Usha Naidu. On the occasion, he also paid tributes to the martyrs by laying a wreath at Victory Stambh, Tanot.
Visiting the famous Longewala Battle site near the border in Jaisalmer, Naidu praised the exemplary courage and determination displayed by Indian soldiers in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. On the second day, the Vice-President visited the Jaisalmer War Museum and interacted with the troops of the Indian Army’s Battle Axe Division (12 RAPID). He commended their supreme efforts in defending the nation and guarding the borders in harsh climatic conditions. He urged the security forces to establish their supremacy in new and emerging areas of conflict such as information and cyber warfare while maintaining their dominance in a conventional war.
Later, Naidu addressed a Sainik Sammelan at 191 BN HQ and interacted with the Border Security Force personnel posted in the area. He praised BSF troops for guarding the nation’s frontiers and for taking measures to counter the emerging threats from enemy drones on the border and asked the force to update itself with the latest technologies. The Vice-President expressed satisfaction over the increase in representation of women in security forces.
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After his two-day stay in Jaisalmer, the Vice-President arrived in Jodhpur and visited the historic Mehrangarh Fort on the occasion of World Tourism Day and was impressed with its majestic beauty. In a Facebook post later, Naidu termed the fort as a glowing symbol of the grandeur of Rajasthan. He also called for improving infrastructure and other facilities around heritage sites to give a boost to tourism.
On the third day, the Vice-President visited the campus of IIT Jodhpur where he inaugurated the Jodhpur City Knowledge & Innovation Cluster and laid the foundation stone of Fab Lab for Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT). Addressing the students, Naidu called for tapping the potential of revolutionary technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advised them to come up with practical solutions to problems in the fields of agriculture, health and education.
On a penultimate day, Naidu visited the Border Security Force’s Jodhpur Frontier headquarters and interacted with the BSF personnel. He expressed confidence that BSF will continue to thwart the nefarious designs of enemies of peace.
Later in the day, the Vice-President visited ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) at Jodhpur and interacted with the scientists and staff. Addressing the scientists at the institute, the Vice-President emphasised the need to provide greater outreach to the farmers. “Technologies should not remain confined to laboratories and scientific know-how should be transferred to farmers,” he said.
Also read: M Venkaiah Naidu visits Tanot Mata Temple on Indo-Pak border
