Raipur : Chief Minister Shri VishnuDeo Sai emphasized that in today’s world, marked by growing materialistic competition, unrest, and conflicts, the teachings of Lord Buddha on peace and compassion have become more relevant than ever. He stated that true progress and human upliftment can only be achieved by embracing the path of harmony and non-violence shown by Buddha.

Addressing the 32nd International Buddhist Conference at the revered Pragya Giri pilgrimage site in Dongargarh, the Chief Minister highlighted the deep-rooted impact of Buddhist philosophy in Chhattisgarh. He noted that the state has been a land of spiritual inclusivity, where people of all faiths coexist in unity, upholding the ideals of mutual respect, brotherhood, and cultural harmony.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to preserving and promoting Chhattisgarh’s rich Buddhist heritage, Chief Minister Sai said that the state is home to several significant Buddhist sites, with Sirpur being one of the most prominent. Recognized for its ancient monasteries, stupas, and inscriptions, Sirpur continues to attract scholars and tourists from across the globe. Likewise, the Mainpat region in northern Chhattisgarh, known as the ‘Mini Tibet of India,’ is a thriving center of Buddhist culture and is fast emerging as a prime Buddhist tourist destination.

Highlighting the government’s vision, Shri Sai stated, “Tourism is a key pillar of Chhattisgarh’s development strategy. Our state, with its breathtaking natural landscapes and cultural diversity, holds immense potential to become a leading tourism hub. We are actively working towards positioning Chhattisgarh as a prime destination for spiritual and heritage tourism.”

The Chief Minister also informed that, in addition to state-led development initiatives, Buddhist sites in Chhattisgarh have been included under the Government of India’s PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) scheme, ensuring integrated development and world-class infrastructure for spiritual tourism. With its rich historical legacy and evolving infrastructure, Chhattisgarh is poised to become a prominent center for Buddhist tourism, further reinforcing India’s stature as the land of Buddha’s wisdom and teachings.

The 32nd International Buddhist Conference witnessed the participation of a distinguished gathering of Buddhist monks, scholars, and followers from various countries. Expressing gratitude, Chief Minister Sai extended a warm welcome to all international and national delegates, acknowledging their role in strengthening global spiritual and cultural ties.

On this occasion, Rajnandgaon Member of Parliament Shri Santosh Pandey and President of Pragya Giri Trust Committee Shri Vinod Khandekar also addressed the gathering, emphasizing the significance of Chhattisgarh’s Buddhist heritage in global discourse.

The event was attended by Pragya Giri Trust Committee Secretary Shri Shailendra Dongre, Treasurer Shri Suresh Kumar Sahare, and a large number of Buddhist devotees, scholars, and dignitaries.

Raipur  : The Excise Department Secretary-Cum-Commissioner, Smt. R. Shangeetha, held a comprehensive departmental review meeting today in Nava Raipur. The meeting was attended by senior officials from Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited, Chhattisgarh State Beverages Corporation, the Flying Squad Team, and excise officers from various districts.

During the review, Smt. R. Shangeetha assessed the revenue targets achieved between April 2024 and January 2025 and issued directives for preparing district-wise action plans to ensure the achievement of upcoming revenue goals.

Tough Stance Against Illegal Liquor and Drug Trade

In light of the upcoming local elections, Smt. R. Shangeetha emphasized the strict implementation of the State Election Commission's directives. She ordered rigorous actions against the manufacturing, storage, transportation, and sale of illegal liquor and narcotic substances. Special instructions were given to increase vigilance at inter-state borders and to launch special enforcement drives to curb illegal activities.

The Excise Secretary directed that liquor should be made available in shops as per consumer demand, and no sales should exceed the government-prescribed rates. To improve customer service, she instructed swift resolution of complaints received through the "Manpasand" mobile app and toll-free helpline 14405.

Training for Excise Staff and Financial Discipline

Recognizing the importance of skill enhancement, Smt. R. Shangeetha ordered the organization of training programs for field excise constables at the district level. She also stressed strict compliance with pricing regulations and quality control, ensuring no adulteration in liquor.

Additionally, she directed that employees working in liquor outlets must receive their salaries on time, and all sales revenue must be deposited in banks promptly. Any negligence in financial transactions would result in strict action against the responsible cash collection or banking agency.

Instructions were also given to expedite pending pension cases, compassionate appointments, and court-related matters for early resolution.

The meeting was attended by Chhattisgarh State Beverages Corporation Managing Director Shri Shyam Lal Dhawde, Special Secretary (Excise) Shri Devendra Singh Bhardwaj and other senior officials.

Raipur । The organizing committee of the Legend 90 Cricket League met Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai at his residence today and extended an invitation to him for the tournament. The Legend 90 Cricket League is set to take place from February 6 to February 18, 2025, at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Naya Raipur.

On this occasion, the Chief Executive Officer of Legend 90, Shri Tarunesh Singh Parihar, presented a special jersey bearing the number 21 of the Chhattisgarh Warriors team to the Chief Minister. This gesture was a tribute to the Chief Minister’s birth date, February 21, which inspired the team to design a special jersey with this number.

The Legend 90 Cricket League is being hosted in India for the first time. Previously, this prestigious international tournament has been held in Sri Lanka and several other countries. The event will bring together some of the most celebrated cricketing legends from around the world.

Renowned national and international cricketers participating in the league include:

Chris Gayle, David Warner, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Matthew Wade, Moeen Ali, Aaron Finch, Thisara Perera, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Shaun Marsh, Martin Guptill, Kedar Jadhav, Ben Dunk, Shakib Al Hasan, and Daniel Christian.

A Landmark Sporting Event for Chhattisgarh

During the meeting with the Chief Minister, Legend 90 CEO Shri Tarunesh Singh Parihar provided comprehensive details about the tournament and emphasized the significance of hosting such a historic event in Chhattisgarh.

Prominent personalities present at the event included Shri Balvinder Singh, Shri Rahul Bhadoria (Director, Sports Mint), Shri Sadan Ghosh, Shri Gaurav Batra, and Shri Rajiv Soni.

The hosting of this international league will provide cricket enthusiasts in Chhattisgarh with an extraordinary opportunity to witness world-class cricketers in action. Furthermore, this event will serve as a major catalyst for the development of cricket in the state.

Chief Minister’s Appeal to Cricket Fans

Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai has urged cricket lovers to attend the Legend 90 Cricket League and cheer for the players. He emphasized that this international tournament will feature top cricketers from India and around the world, making it a must-watch event for sports enthusiasts.

The Chief Minister also highlighted the Chhattisgarh government’s commitment to sports infrastructure development. He mentioned initiatives such as rewarding Olympic medalists and organizing the Bastar Olympics, which saw participation from 1.65 lakh people. He reiterated the government’s dedication to enhancing cricket facilities in the state and expressed confidence that the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium would continue to host high-profile matches in the future.

The Legend 90 Cricket League is expected to be a grand celebration of cricket, uniting sports fans from across the country and beyond.

Raipur । The Chhattisgarh government has disbursed the 12th installment of the Mahtari Vandan Yojana, transferring ₹650.32 crore directly into the bank accounts of 69,53,994 women beneficiaries across the state. This initiative aims to provide financial assistance to women, ensuring economic security and empowerment.

According to the Women and Child Development Department, the financial aid has been distributed across various districts. Beneficiaries of Raipur district received the highest allocation, with ₹51.19 crore transferred to 5,31,558 women. Beneficiaries of Bilaspur district received ₹39.54 crore, benefiting 4,22,741 women, while Durg district saw ₹38.33 crore reaching 4,02,211 beneficiaries.

In Balodabazar district, 3,27,476 beneficiaries received ₹30.97 crore, while 3,22,519 women in Mahasamund district were provided ₹30.11 crore. Similarly, beneficiaries of Korba district received ₹27.34 crore, benefitting 2,93,353 women, while 2,88,420 beneficiaries in Janjgir-Champa district were transferred ₹26.91 crore. Rajnandgaon district saw ₹24.22 crore reaching 2,56,724 beneficiaries, whereas 2,53,149 women in Kabirdham district received ₹23.53 crore. Beneficiaries of Balod district were allocated ₹23.10 crore, supporting 2,50,768 women.

In tribal and remote regions, the funds reached thousands of women. Beneficiaries of Bastar district received ₹18 crore, while Dantewada district saw ₹5.16 crore transferred to 54,579 women. Similarly, Bijapur district beneficiaries received ₹3.67 crore, Narayanpur district beneficiaries were transferred ₹2.54 crore, and Sukma district beneficiaries received ₹4.91 crore.

With this latest disbursement, the Mahtari Vandan Yojana continues to serve as a crucial initiative for women’s economic empowerment and social security in Chhattisgarh.

Raipur . Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai today paid tribute to Amar Shaheed Gend Singh by offering flowers on his photograph on his martyrdom day at the Chief Minister's residence office.Chief Minister Shri Sai, while remembering Amar Shaheed Gend Singh who sacrificed his life for the freedom, said that the landlord of Paralkot Zamindari, Shaheed Gend Singh had sounded the trumpet of the freedom movement against the exploitation of the British officials.Shaheed Gend Singh took on the British and opposed the policies of the British rule in his area. He said that we all should remember Martyr Gend Singh and take a pledge to follow the path shown by him and contribute to the upliftment of the society

Raipur . Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai has paid tribute to Hemu Kalani, the immortal martyr of the Indian freedom struggle, on his sacrifice day on 21 January. Shri Sai said that immortal martyr Hemu Kalani ji was one of the youngest revolutionaries to be martyred for the country's freedom struggle.His indomitable courage inspired the youth to participate in the freedom movement. The Chief Minister said that the entire country is proud of Hemu Kalani ji's bravery at the age of just 19 against the atrocities being committed on Indians by the British rule.

Raipur . Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai has paid tribute to the great revolutionary Rash Bihari Bose on his death anniversary on 21 January. He said that Rash Behari Bose ji was one of the leading freedom fighters of the country. He played an important role in the formation of Azad Hind Fauj.Rash Bihari Bose, who was interested in revolutionary activities against the British rule from the very beginning, started opposing the British rule from a very young age. Rash Bihari Bose ji had raised his voice against the British rule and he had an important contribution in getting independence for India. Used to be.

Jashpurnagar: Chief Minister Shri Vishnudev Sai today laid the foundation stone of water supply scheme under Amrit Mission under the Sopan program of urban development organized at Pandit Deendayal Auditorium. Along with this, he also distributed letters appointing Swachhta Didis as respect and compassion.On this occasion, in a program organized at Vashishtha Community Hall of Jashpur, the Chief Minister virtually performed the Bhoomi Pujan of development works worth Rs 15.42 crore in Jashpur Municipality area. MLA Smt. Raimuni Bhagat symbolically performed Bhoomi Pujan of the development works and honored the cleanliness didis.

On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that Swachhta Didis have a big contribution in cleanliness and door-to-door garbage collection in cities. It is only because of their dedication and hard work that the cleanliness mission is being successful. Respect for cleanliness didis encourages the,

We ourselves feel honored by honoring them. At present, more than 9 thousand Swachhta Didis are working under the Swachh Bharat Mission in the urban bodies of the state. They are given an honorarium of Rs 7200. I am extremely happy to inform that today the honorarium of Swachhta Didis is being increased by Rs 800.

Jashpur: On Monday, a meeting was organized for all the political parties regarding the elections of three-tier Panchayat and urban bodies under the chairmanship of District Panchayat CEO Abhishek Kumar in the district office conference room.In this meeting, Additional Collector Pradeep Kumar Sahu, Additional Superintendent of Police Anil Soni and representatives of political parties including Hiruram Nikunj, Sahastranshu Pathak, Manmohan Bhagat, Santosh Kumar Singh, Faizan Sarwar Khan, Sonsai Chauhan, Sumit Pathak, Vishnuprasad Kuldeep, Anoj Gupta were present. , Vinod Pradhan was present.

In this meeting, there was discussion regarding the final publication of the voter list and making its copy available to the political parties as per the instructions received from the Election Commission of India.On this occasion, while giving information to the political parties to follow the Model Code of Conduct, information was also given regarding property expropriation proceedings.

Jashpurnagar: Regarding the upcoming urban body and three-tier Panchayat elections, a press conference was organized today in the Collectorate meeting room under the chairmanship of District Panchayat CEO Mr. Abhishek Kumar. While giving information to the press, he said that the three-tier Panchayat elections will be conducted in three phases.In the first phase, voting will be held on 17 February in Janpad Panchayat Bagicha, on 20 February in Jashpur, Manora, Duldula, Kunkuri and in the third phase on 23 February, voting will be held in Farsabahar, Kansabel and Pathalgaon from 7 am to 3 pm.Under the urban body elections, voting will be held on February 11 from 8 am to 5 pm in Pathalgaon, Kotba, Bagicha under Municipal Council Jashpur and Nagar Panchayat. During this, the District Panchayat CEO also gave information regarding the preparations for the elections.

Raipur . As per the promise made to the landless laborers in Chhattisgarh, another guarantee of Prime Minister Shri Modi has been fulfilled. In our Chhattisgarh, a large population depends on agriculture but there are people who do not even have agricultural land and earn their living by doing agricultural labour.Keeping them in mind, we had also made a promise to the landless agricultural laborer brothers and sisters. We had said that we will give them financial assistance of Rs 10,000 annually.

Today we have fulfilled this promise. Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai said this while inaugurating the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Landless Agricultural Laborer Welfare Scheme in the auditorium of New Circuit House today.The Chief Minister said that a total of 5 lakh 62 thousand 112 beneficiaries of the state are going to get the benefit of this scheme. Under this scheme, we will provide Rs 562 crore 11 lakh 20 thousand to the landless agricultural labourers.

Raipur . On the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti, the mass marriage of 300 daughters was conducted as per the rituals along with religious rituals under the Chief Minister Kanya Vivah Yojana of Chhattisgarh Government in the presence of Chief Minister Shri Vishnudev Sai at the Tatapani Mahotsav of Chhattisgarh.While blessing the newlyweds, Chief Minister Shri Sai said that by organizing mass marriages under the Chief Minister Kanya Vivah Yojana, poor and needy families are getting financial support for the marriage of their daughters.Ms. Kunti Nagesia, a disabled girl from Kusmi development block, expressed happiness over her marriage and said that marriage was not possible due to my financial condition and disability. Today my dream came true with the help of Chief Minister's blessings and scheme. Other new couples and their families also appreciated the event.

Raipur . Chief Minister Shri Vishnudev Sai saluted the courage and sacrifice of the brave soldiers of the Army on the 9th Armed Forces Veterans Day organized at Pagurabahar village of Jashpur district today.On this occasion, he honored 81 year old Shri Arun Kumar, resident of Bhagalpur, who was awarded the Sena Medal by the President for his bravery in the India-Pakistan war of 1971,The Chief Minister appreciated his indomitable courage by presenting him a shawl, quince and a citation. Arun Kumar shared his war experiences and recalled the glorious moments of serving the country.

Jashpur. Under the direction of Collector Mr. Rohit Vyas, the cleanliness of development block Kansabel was observed by Chief Executive Officer, District Panchayat Mr. Abhishek Kumar.He carefully observed the cleanliness of Kansabel bus stand, daily market, public toilets and the cleanliness on the side of NH and discussed the site with the public representatives and villagers present.During the tour, the public, shopkeepers and public representatives present were asked to ensure community participation in maintaining cleanliness around the bus stand.

Jashpur: A workshop regarding financial inclusion was organized in the meeting room of District Panchayat last day in which CSR Bank Mitra, Bank Sakhi and RM from RO office, Mr. Mayur, CS CFI Vertical Head Mr. Shailendra and CSC District Manager were present.In the workshop, training was given on Social Securities Scheme and other banking products and Bank Mitra and Bank Sakhi who did excellent work in social scheme in the district were honored.

Raipur . Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai today attended the three-day 73rd annual convention of Brihanmaharashtra Mandal organized at Chaubey Colony in the capital Raipur. He announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh for the successful organization of this important convention.On this occasion, Chief Minister Shri Sai honored the intelligent people associated with Marathi society who have achieved special achievements by presenting mementos and praised their contribution to the society.

Raipur . Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai has extended hearty congratulations and best wishes to the people of the state on 'National Youth Day', the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on January 12.

Shri Sai has said in his greeting message that Swami Vivekananda ji showed the country and the world the path of service to mankind through his sermons and energetic lectures.His thoughts have given a new direction to the entire society. Vivekananda ji is a great source of inspiration for the youth. It is a matter of honor and pride for Chhattisgarh that Swami Vivekananda ji spent some time in Raipur.The memories associated with Swamiji give a special identity to the capital Raipur. The Chief Minister said that Swamiji's philosophical and ideological life values will always inspire us

Jashpurnagar : As per the instructions of Collector Rohit Vyas, a one-day entrepreneurship awareness camp has been organized today by District Trade and Industry Center Jashpur at Government Rambhajan Rai NES College, Jashpur. In which about 200 college students participated.In the camp, the youth were provided technical information for new entrepreneurs and setting up new industries.During this, General Manager of Industries Department Shri M.S. Pankra gave detailed information about the departmental schemes while giving information related to setting up of new industries to the students. Also, information related to Antyavasya schemes was given by Mr. Yogesh Dhruv, Executive Officer of Antyavasya.