Karnal, September 29: Union Minister for Energy, Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal, has said that the people of Karnal have a strong spirit of service. Citizens should participate in social work. He himself has been serving Karnal for the last 11 years. During the Seva Pakhwada, social welfare activities are being carried out everywhere.
The Union Minister was speaking as the chief guest at a free health check-up camp organized at the Shri Krishna Gaushala here on Sunday. Thousands of people will benefit from the camp organized in the Gaushala premises. He wished people on the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Navratri. He said that there are certain occasions when we think of inspirational things. Ramlila inspires us to adopt the ideals of Ram's life and renounce the evil of Ravana.

*Seva Pakhwada being organized
Union Minister Manohar Lal said that Seva Pakhwada is being celebrated across the country. This fortnight also marks the birth anniversaries of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh. He stated that Lal Bahadur Shastri's life was an example of honesty and virtue. During the Seva Pakhwada, blood donation camps, health check-ups, tree plantation, sports competitions, and cow service are being organized.

*GST Gift During the Festive Season
Union Minister Manohar Lal said that the culture of service is being instilled throughout the country. The government has recently made significant progress by reducing GST rates. This will increase people's purchasing power. Previously, in the budget, the government had exempted income up to ?12 lakh from tax. More than 90 percent of items are now in the 12 percent GST slab instead of 18 percent. Items previously subject to 12 percent GST are now in the 5 percent or zero percent category. People have begun to benefit from GST. The reduction in GST during the festive season is a significant gift.
He stated that GST collections in a single month in 2017 were ?80,000 crore, which increased to ?2.4 trillion in February-March this year. Trader registrations have increased from 6.5 million to 15.1 million. Inflation has declined by 1.86 percent in the last quarter. On this occasion, the Union Minister mentioned the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched in 2014, stating that under this campaign, toilets have been built in every household.

*Cleanliness awareness increased, letter written to Nadda for pharma hub
Union Minister Manohar Lal said that awareness about cleanliness has increased among the people. The 72 cities that ranked first, second, and third in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan have now been asked to adopt one more city each. Karnal and Sonipat have adopted five cities each. The entire country needs to be made clean. He stated that he has already written a letter to JP Nadda to make Karnal a pharma hub.
Earlier, he worshipped the cows at the cowshed and fed them. He also inspected the X-ray machine installed for the cattle.

*Positive results of increasing the cowshed budget - Gyananand
On this occasion, Gita scholar Gyananand Maharaj said that thousands of people will benefit from the camp organized by the Chamber of Commerce on the sixth Navratri. This is a wonderful opportunity for service. This cowshed was established in 1995. Last year, a hospital equipped with modern facilities was also opened here. He said that during his tenure as Chief Minister, Union Minister Manohar Lal increased the budget for cowsheds from 40 crores to 400 crores, which is yielding positive results.
On this occasion, Karnal MLA Jagmohan Anand, Assandh's Yogendra Rana, Mayor Renu Bala Gupta, District BJP President Praveen Lathar, MP representative Kavinder Rana, Chairperson Megha Bhandari, Cowshed President Sunil Gupta, General Secretary Ramkumar, Swami Prem Murti, Karnal Chamber of Commerce President Narendra Bamba, Kishore Nagpal, and others were present.