Balrampur, May 28 (UNI) Accepting the decade-old demand of the Tharus living, along the Indo-Nepal borders, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today declared that all the Van grams (forest villages) will be converted into Revenue villages, after making the required amendments in the Act. The Chief Minister made this announcement in Pachpedva block of the district, where he had gone to take part in Maharana Pratap Jyanti, organised by the Deen Dayal Shodh Sansthan. “There was the long-pending demand of villagers to convert Van Grams into revenue villages because they were missing out on certain government schemes. The BJP government will initiate steps to convert van grams into revenue villages. If need be, we will carry out the required amendments in the Act,' he added. He also declared that government will set up a museum to preserve the culture of Tharus in India. 'Tharus have a vibrant tribal culture, but people outside this region do not know about this. We will not only preserve that culture, but also showcase it in this proposed museum,' Mr Adityanath said. The block where the Chief Minister went today, is dominated by Tharus – tribals, who consider themselves to be the descendants of Rajpur warrior Maharana Pratap. The Chief Minister also offered floral tributes to the statue of the Rajput king and recalled his contributions. 'Maharana Pratap is a role model for the Indian youth. The Tharus are true descendants of Maharana Paratap is gauged by the fact that they are the true defenders of the nation at the porous Indo-Nepal border. Because of you (Tharus) people in other parts of the state can sleep in peace,' Mr Adityanath added. He also saw an exhibition, put up by the members of Tharu tribe. He declared that scholarship for Tharu students that was closed by the previous Samajwadi Party government will resume soon. 'The region will get an intermediate school and social welfare department will start development projects in this region soon. They will get roads, water, and electricity supply. All the basic facilities will be made available to Tharus,' he said. 'The country cannot progress until all sections of the society are strengthened. No government has ever thought about development of Tharu tribe. BJP will ensure that Tharus are brought in the mainstream of development,' he assured. The Chief Minister also lauded the achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, saying that UP Government will work in tandem with tghe Union Government. We will implement the pro-poor and pro- people policies of the NDA government. If we can do that, we will change the face of Uttar Pradesh,' he said. He talked about the Mudra Yojana and Ujjawala Yojana, under which free LPG cylinders are distributed among the BPL families. The Jan Dhan Yojana has given economic empowerment to the poor. 'What Modi has achieved in the last three years, no other government can ever dreamt of doing it in the last 70 years,' he said. UNI MB RJ 2104