New Delhi, 16 July: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated Bundelkhand Expressway at Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, State Ministers and people?s representatives were present during the inauguration.
Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister recalled the glorious tradition of hard work, valor and cultural richness of Bundelkhand. He said land that produced countless warriors, where the devotion for India flows in blood, prowess and hard work of sons and daughters of Bundelkhand have always brightened the name of the country.
Prime Minister discussed the changes that the new expressway will bring and said the distance from Chitrakoot to Delhi has been reduced by 3-4 hours by this Expressway. He said its benefit is much more than the reduction of time, the expressway will not only provide speed to vehicles, but will accelerate the industrial progress of the entire region.
Modi said under the spirit of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, even the remote and neglected areas are witnessing unprecedented connectivity, great infrastructure and facilities are not limited to large cities and selected areas of the countries anymore like they were earlier. He said that connectivity projects in Uttar Pradesh are connecting many areas which have been ignored in the past.
Modi informed Bundelkhand Expressway passes through seven districts- Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah. He said, similarly, other Expressways are connecting every nook and corner of the state, and every corner of Uttar Pradesh is ready to move forward with new dreams and new resolutions. Modi said the Double-Engine Government is working in that direction with renewed vigour.
Prime Minister said that new airport terminals came up in Prayagraj, Kushinagar got a new airport and work is going on in Jewar, Noida for a new airport and many more cities are being connected with air travel facilities. This will give a push to tourism and other development opportunities, he said.
Prime Minister asked the Chief Minister to develop a tourism circuit around the many forts in the region. He also asked the Chief Minister to organize fort-related events and competitions.
Modi remarked that in the UP in which the Saryu canal project took 40 years to complete, where Gorakhpur Fertilizer Plant was closed for 30 years, where Arjun Dam project took 12 years to complete, where Amethi rifle factory was lying with only one name board, where Rae Bareli Rail Coach Factory was running only by painting the coaches, in that UP, now the infrastructure work is being done so seriously that it has even outperformed good states. UP’s identity is changing across the country, Modi affirmed.
Modi remarked about the change of pace and said that the doubling of the railway line increased to 200 Km from 50 km per year. Similarly, the number of Common Service Centers in Uttar Pradesh increased from 11,000 in 2014 to 1 lakh 30 thousand Common Service Centers, today. From 12 Medical Colleges, UP, today has 35 medical colleges and work on 14 more is underway, he added.
Modi said projects like upgrading of facilities and renovation at Baba Vishwanath Dham, Gorakhpur AIIMS, Delhi-Meerut Expressway and Bundelkhand Expressway are examples of UP’s ‘Maryada’.
Prime Minister said the larger thinking behind taking a decision and making a policy should be for further accelerating the development of the country. Everything that harms the country, and affects the development of the country, have to be kept away. He said that ?Amrit Kaal? is a rare opportunity and we should not miss this opportunity to ensure the development of the country.
Prime Minister brought attention to the issue of the culture of seeking votes by distributing freebies in our country. He warned that this freebies culture is very dangerous for the development of the country. People of the country have to be very careful with this freebies culture (?Rewri? Culture). Those with freebies culture will never build new expressways, new airports or defense corridors for you. The people of the freebies culture feel that they can buy the votes by distributing freebies to the common man. He gave a call to defeat this thinking collectively and remove the freebies culture from the politics of the country. He said that now the government is working on solid projects of providing amenities like pucca houses, railway lines, roads and infrastructure, irrigation, and electricity projects away from this ?rewri? culture. ?Double-engine governments are not adopting the short-cut of freebies and delivering through hard work?, he said.
Prime Minister listed Ratauli Dam, Bhavani Dam, and Majhgaon-Chilli sprinkler irrigation project as efforts to take the water from Bundelkhand rivers to a maximum number of the local people. Ken-Betwa link p project will change the lives of people of the region, he said.
The Prime Minister reiterated his request for contribution by the people of Bundelkhand in the campaign for 75 Amrit Sarovers in every district.
Referring to the role of the Make In India Campaign in strengthening the small and cottage industry the Prime Minister underlined the success of the toy industry. He said due to the efforts of the government, artisans, industry and the citizens there has been a drastic cut in the import of toys. This will benefit the poor, deprived, backward, tribals, dalits and women, he pointed out.
Modi also highlighted the contribution of Bundelkhand in the field of sports. He said that the highest sporting honor is named after the local son Major Dhyanchand. He also mentioned Shaili Singh, an International athlete from the region who brought laurels in the under-20 world athletics championship.
Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone of Bundelkhand Expressway on 29 February, 2020. The work on the Expressway has been completed within 28 months. The 296 Km, four-lane expressway has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crores, under Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), and can later be expanded up to six lanes as well. It extends from NH-35 at Gonda village near Bharatkoop in Chitrakoot district to near Kudrail village in Etawah district, where it merges with the Agra-Lucknow expressway. It passes through seven districts, viz. Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah.
