Latest news with #Dhangars
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
India Will Lead Global Auto Industry In 5 Years, Overtaking US And China: Gadkari
1 2 Nagpur: Union road transport and highways minister, Nitin Gadkari , on Saturday pledged to dedicate his future efforts to ending farmers' suicides, and even projected India's ascent to the number one position in the global automobile sector. "I have worked for infrastructure, roads, ports, and industry, but from now on, I want to ensure that no farmer is forced to take his own life," the senior BJP leader said at a city event to mark the 11 years of the Narendra Modi-led govt at the Centre. Speaking during an interview organized by the Bharatiya Janata Party and conducted by senior journalist Uday Nirgudkar in Nagpur, the city MP laid bare his feelings for rural India. "Suicides by farmers reflect a systemic failure. My work ahead will be centred on transforming agriculture into an enterprise of dignity, self-reliance and income. Ab Tak Trailer Tha, Picture Abhi Baki hai (The work done so far is just a beginning)," he said, while also outlining reforms in irrigation, crop diversification and rural infrastructure. Gadkari highlighted efforts taken for irrigation schemes like Baliraja Jal Sanjeevani Yojana and the massive funding for several irrigation projects in Vidarbha like Jigaon and Gosikhurd. "We are ensuring that water reaches Vidarbha and Marathwada, where thousands of farmers once relied on migration or drought-prone cropping," he said. Citing improved irrigation and water conservation measures, he claimed that previously migrating communities such as the Dhangars are now harvesting three crops a year. Switching gears to India's growing might in the auto sector, Gadkari declared, "India has overtaken Japan to become the third-largest automobile market in the world. In five years, we will overtake the United States and China. I assure you of this." He pegged the sector's current valuation at Rs22 lakh crore, up from Rs13 lakh crore in 2014, attributing the growth to shift towards electric vehicles, ethanol, green hydrogen, and alternative fuels. "Our domestic auto sector has created 4.5 crore jobs so far. Once we reach the top spot globally, we will generate over 10 crore jobs," the Union minister claimed. On India's export strength, he noted, "Companies like Bajaj, TVS, Hero, and Honda are exporting 50% of their production." The senior minister in PM Modi's cabinet revealed that top global manufacturers now view India as a hub for clean vehicle production. "The chairman of Mercedes-Benz has informed me that all of their new electric vehicle platforms will be manufactured in India," he said while emphasizing, "This is not just industrial growth; it's a social revolution." He also highlighted India's potential in reducing logistics costs through highway expansion and multi-modal connectivity. "We have brought logistics costs down from 16% to near 10% and will reach 9% within a year. This alone will boost our exports by 1.5%," he said. Citing ongoing trials of hydrogen trucks and bio-bitumen roads, Gadkari said India is pushing towards developing sustainable infrastructure. "India imports Rs22,000 crore worth of fuel. Our aim is to become an energy-exporting nation," he said, emphasising India's competitive edge with falling logistics costs and expanding multimodal transport hubs. On the top five sectors where the govt delivered the most, Gadkari said, "Airports have doubled, new trains like Vande Bharat are popular, expressways and tunnels have transformed connectivity, tourism has boomed, and infrastructure in education and healthcare has grown significantly. Twenty-five crore people have risen above the poverty line, and we have empowered women and farmers through direct support schemes. " As far as regional development is concerned, Gadkari said that Gadchiroli has attracted Rs7.5 lakh crore worth of investments and is poised to become Maharashtra's most advanced district within five years. For Washim, he announced a medical equipment manufacturing centre that will directly employ 3,000 local youth. Calling Maharashtra's progress under a double-engine govt "unparalleled," Gadkari concluded by reaffirming his commitment to inclusive development. "From building roads in tribal areas to empowering women and diversifying agriculture, our govt has ensured that every corner of India moves forward," he said. Reflecting on his own political journey, Gadkari said, "I have never asked for any post. The party gave me everything. My real satisfaction lies in the work done by me and my team for the country. My commitment is to the ideology and the people. I will accept whatever the party would order, as me and CM Devendra Fadnavis are products of the party and lakhs of its workers who sacrificed everything for the party."
United News of India
11-06-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
CM Fadnavis should find solution for Dhangar community living at Raigad fort: IAC president
Pune, June 11 ( UNI) The Central Archaeological Department has issued notices to the Dhangar community members living in Raigad fort to vacate the premises, Hemant Patil, National President of India Against Corruption and OBC leader said here on Wednesday. He urged Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis to immediately find a solution to this issue and provide justice to the Dhangar community who have been living in the fort premises for 700 years. It is time for the citizens of the Dhangar to leave their ancestral land. Raigad is protected as a historical heritage site. As per the ASI rules, any encroachment or new construction on the fort is illegal, so notices have been issued to the citizens of the Dhangar Basti here. The time has come for the Dhangar community, who have been living on the fort for seven generations, to become homeless, he said. Patil requested that Fadnavis should discuss this issue with the central government and requested that the issue of the Dhangar community be treated as a special matter. Patil appealed that the government should provide justice to the Dhangar community. "There are houses of the Dhangar brothers in the area below the market Jagdishwar temple at Raigad. The families earn a living by providing milk, curd, buttermilk and food to tourists who come to the fort," he said. "For the last 700 years, the Dhangar community has lived on the fort. The Dhangar community has also played a heroic role in Shivaji's work for Swarajya. The community has done work including protecting the fort, animal husbandry during Shivaji's reign, milk production and fighting the battle for Swarajya," he said. In such a situation, we can not just remove their dwellings as encroachments. The government should remove the encroachments on other forts, but allow the Dhangar basti to remain as a special case, demanded Patil. Dhangar and OBC leaders should come together on this issue and write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and try to save the Dhangars on the fort. Patil said that he will soon send a letter to Prime Minister Modi in this regard, requesting him to maintain the Dhangar basti there. UNI SP RN
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Business Standard
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Rename Churchgate station after Ahilyabai, demands Dhangar community leader
A Dhangar community leader on Saturday demanded that the Churchgate railway station in south Mumbai be renamed after Ahilyabai Holkar, the revered queen of the Maratha-ruled Malwa kingdom. Talking to reporters here, Dhangar leader Prakash Shendage also launched a sharp attack on the BJP over its alleged failure to deliver on the promise of granting the Scheduled Tribes (ST) status to his community. Dhangar, a shepherd community in the state, is currently in the Nomadic Tribes (NT) list. Its members have been demanding reservation benefits under the ST quota for the past several years. Talking about the demand for renaming Churchgate station, Shendage asked, "There is neither any church nor any gate here, so why retain the name Churchgate?" "An intersection close to it has already been named after Ahilyabai Holkar. Now it is time the station also carries her legacy," he said. Attacking the ruling BJP, he said the party has failed to fulfil the promise of granting reservation to Dhangars. "The man who promised ST status to the Dhangars is now the chief minister. He has held the post twice earlier, yet the community has received nothing," Shendage said without naming CM Devendra Fadnavis. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Economic Times
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Rename Churchgate station after Ahilyabai Holkar, demands Dhangar community leader
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis (File Photo) A Dhangar community leader on Saturday demanded that the Churchgate railway station in south Mumbai be renamed after Ahilyabai Holkar, the revered queen of the Maratha-ruled Malwa kingdom. Talking to reporters here, Dhangar leader Prakash Shendage also launched a sharp attack on the BJP over its alleged failure to deliver on the promise of granting the Scheduled Tribes (ST) status to his community. Dhangar, a shepherd community in the state, is currently in the Nomadic Tribes (NT) list. Its members have been demanding reservation benefits under the ST quota for the past several years. Talking about the demand for renaming Churchgate station, Shendage asked, "There is neither any church nor any gate here, so why retain the name Churchgate?" "An intersection close to it has already been named after Ahilyabai Holkar. Now it is time the station also carries her legacy," he said. Attacking the ruling BJP, he said the party has failed to fulfil the promise of granting reservation to Dhangars. "The man who promised ST status to the Dhangars is now the chief minister. He has held the post twice earlier, yet the community has received nothing," Shendage said without naming CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Hindustan Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
State honours Ahilyadevi Holkar, woos Dhangars
The BJP-led Mahayuti government is scrambling to make good on a decade-old promise to the Dhangar community, by announcing a series of initiatives dedicated to Ahilyadevi, the famous 18th century queen of the Holkar dynasty. State honours Ahilyadevi Holkar, woos Dhangars In what could seem like overdrive, the state has announced a new medical college bearing her name, conservation of a memorial commemorating the Maratha queen, a biographical movie, a clean-up of the ghats developed by Ahilyadevi, and a commemorative postage stamp in her honour. The state will also literally sing her praises by releasing a song celebrating her contributions. The decisions were announced by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, on the occasion of Ahilyadevi's 300th birth anniversary on Tuesday, at a ministerial council meeting held for the first time in Ahilyanagar, formerly Ahmednagar. Ahilyadevi was born into a Dhangar family in Chaundi, in Ahmednagar district, and married into the Holkar dynasty in Indore. A progressive queen known for her administrative prowess, she has remained an icon of the Dhangar community. The Dhangars are a pastoral, nomadic community, classified as a Nomadic Tribe, who enjoy 3.5% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions in Maharashtra. The community has been demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, which would double their reservation quota in the state. They consider themselves 'Dhangads' and enjoy reservation under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category in many other states. The Dhangars, who comprise around 10% of Maharashtra's population, have a significant presence in six to seven Lok Sabha constituencies, such as Baramati, Parbhani, Dharashiv (Osmanabad), Ahilyanagar, Amravati, Solapur and Shirur. Given their significant numbers, the BJP decided to win them over as a potential votebank in 2014. It was then, as state BJP chief during Congress-NCP rule, that Devendra Fadnavis promised to re-classify the Dhangars as a Scheduled Tribe if the BJP was voted to power. But the party failed to keep its promise. A decade later, in October 2024, the previous Mahayuti government under Eknath Shinde resurrected Ahilyadevi as a state icon when they renamed Ahmednagar as 'Ahilyanagar'. Now, the BJP-led Mahayuti government under Devendra Fadnavis has made the Maratha queen a political priority once again. Topping the initiatives announced on Tuesday is a ₹ 681-crore plan for the conservation of the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar memorial in Ahilyanagar. 'We will restore and conserve her memorial at Chaundi and will build it like a national monument, an inspirational place and a pilgrimage site,' said Fadnavis. The government will also make a multilingual, biographical movie on the Maratha queen, which will be released globally in cinemas, on television and on OTT platforms. The Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation (MFSCDC) has been appointed as the executive agency for the project. 'It will be a commercial movie which will be made in several languages such as Marathi, Hindi among others,' said Fadnavis. Fadnavis also said the government would desilt and rejuvenate all the ghats, wells and water supply systems developed Ahilyadevi during her tenure as queen of the Holkar dynasty. 'A special ₹ 75-crore scheme will restore 34 historical water structures, including 19 wells, six ghats, and six kunds that were identified in a state-wide survey,' the chief minister said. A new medical college and hospital named after Ahilyadevi will be built in Ahilyanagar at an estimated cost of ₹ 485 crore. It will be a 430-bed hospital, while the medical college will have 100 seats. Fadnavis also declared the renaming of a scheme for Dhangar students to access English-medium residential schools as 'Raje Yashwantrao Holkar', and the renaming of a post-matric hostel scheme for Dhangar students as the 'Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Hostel Scheme'. Hostels will be developed in all regions of the state, each housing 200 students. A government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) for girls will also be opened in Ahilyanagar, Fadnavis said. Concluding the slew of announcements, the chief minister said a postage stamp would be released to honour the contributions of the Maratha queen, as would a song to spread awareness about her achievements.
