Prime Minister Modi, while laying the foundation stone for the Annapurna Mata temple in Adalaj, Gujarat, urged the industrialists of the community to come forward and help the farmers getting better value for their produce.
“The world looks up to us. World’s tallest statue is that of Sardar Patel today. When AMUL began its white revolution, people from the Leuwa Patel community were the first to take the initiative and look at how it is successful. If 5-15 people from the community can take an initiative to build AMUL which has benefitted everyone, why can’t few take up an initiative to connect to farmers?” PM Modi said.
“If few industrialists here could set up food processing units to benefit farmers, imagine the infinite wealth it could create for them. Food processing and value addition increase the value of produce. Chillies from Shertha are popular, but the same chillies dried and turned red are even more valuable. Similarly, the value increases if the dried red chillies are turned into red chilli powder,” he said while urging the industrialist community to come forward to help the farmers and ease their distress.
Lauding the farmer community of Leuwa Patel, PM Modi said, “Jevo bhakt, eva bhagwan, jo bhakt pehelwan hoy, to bhagwan hanuman (God is as good as his devotees. If a devotee is a pehelwan, God would be Hanuman). If devotee worships knowledge, God would be Saraswati. If devotee worships wealth, God would be Lakshmi. In our society, the community that has done the most in terms of providing nourishment, it is the farmer community. And if you speak of a farmer in Kathiawar region, then that farmer is most likely a Leuwa Patel. Hence, they worship Annapurna Mata.”