‘Baar baar din ye aaye’: How India celebrated PM Modi’s 72nd birthday

[caption id=“attachment_11273541” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 72 on Saturday, with politicians and dignitaries extending their best wishes to him. On the day, he released two of the eight cheetahs flown in from Namibia into a special enclosure at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh. ANI[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_11273561” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] PM Modi clicked some pictures of the cheetahs on a professional camera after releasing them. PIB[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_11273611” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] After releasing the cheetahs at the Kuno national park, PM Modi addressed a convention of self-help groups in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh. Twitter/ @CMMadhyaPradesh[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_11273711” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] On the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 72nd birthday, the Goa government-led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, carried out a cleanliness drive at 37 beaches across the state. Twitter/@DrPramodPSawant[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_11273781” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Manipur government led by N Biren Singh released a blood donors’ directory as part of Seva Pakhwara organized for PM Modi’s birthday. Twitter/@BiswajitThongam[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_11274001” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created a five feet sand sculpture and installed 1,213 earthen tea cups on Odisha’s Puri beach to wish Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday. Twitter/ @sudarsansand[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_11273881” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Admirers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrate his birthday in Ahmedabad. AFP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_11273861” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday launched ‘Swachhta Pakhwara’ in Delhi. He participated in the programme at the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station. ANI[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_11273661” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have used the occasion of his birthday to launch ‘seva’ and development initiatives since 2014. This year, his party has embarked on a fortnight-long nationwide drive of public outreach with initiatives like blood donation, helping the poor and disabled, and cleanliness measures, and also observe a ‘unity in diversity’ programme. Here, Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju donates blood. Twitter/@KirenRijiju[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_11273971” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] An online auction of over 1,200 items, including a model statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and sporting memorabilia of Commonwealth Games medallists, gifted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, went live on Saturday. Proceeds from the auction, which will continue till 2 October, will go to the Namami Gange Mission. PIB[/caption]