Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his radio programme "Mann ki Baat" on Sunday appreciated the people who are taking initiatives like providing books free of cost to needy students and coming up with innovative concepts like mobile libraries.
Prime Minister lauded the efforts made by Manzoor Ahmed Elahi, who is providing pencil slate to big firms of the country. "Today, Pulwama in Kashmir is playing an important role in educating the entire nation. Almost 90 per cent of the demand for the pencil slate in the country is met by Kashmir Valley and Pulwama has a big share in that. At one time we used to import the wood for pencils, but now, our Pulwama is making the nation self-reliant in this field. The Chinar wood from the valley has high moisture content and softness which makes it most suitable for the production of pencils. Ukhoo in Pulwama is known as the pencil village. There are many units engaged in the production of pencils slates which are generating employment and in these units, women are working in large numbers," Prime Minister said.
