Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (18 December) laid the foundation stone of 594 km long Meerut-Prayagraj Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister B L Varma were among those present on the occasion.
The 594 Km long six-lane Expressway will be built at a cost of over Rs 36,200 crore.
Starting near the Bijauli village in Meerut, the Expressway will extend till near the Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj. It passes through Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, RaeBareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj.
Upon completion of work, it will become the longest expressway of Uttar Pradesh, connecting the western and eastern regions of the state.
A 3.5 Km long air strip for assisting emergency take off and landing of Air Force planes will also be constructed on the Expressway in Shahjahanpur. An industrial corridor is also proposed to be built along the Expressway.
The Expressway will also give a fillip to multiple sectors including industrial development, trade, agriculture, tourism etc. It will provide a big boost to the socio-economic development of the region.
Addressing a gathering after foundation laying ceremony, the Prime Minister started with paying tribute to revolutionaries of the Kakori incident Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan and Roshan Singh, a PMO release said.
PM Modi remarked that Maa Ganga is the source of all auspiciousness and all progress, adding that she gives all the happiness, and takes away all the pain. Similarly, Ganga Expressway will also open new doors of progress for UP, he said.
It will be a source of many boons for the state, said the Prime Minister, referring to the network of expressways, new airports and railway routes.
He said that the modern infrastructure that is being built in UP today shows how the resources are being used properly.
“You have clearly seen how public money was used earlier. But today the money of Uttar Pradesh is being invested in the development of Uttar Pradesh”, PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister said when the whole of UP grows together, the country progresses. Therefore, the focus of the double engine government is on the development of UP.
‘With the mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas, we are making sincere efforts for the development of UP”, he said.
The Prime Minister also brought the focus of the people to the situation in the state five years ago.
“Except in some areas of the state, electricity was not available in other cities and villages. The government of double engine has not only given about 80 lakh free electricity connections in UP, but every district is being given many times more electricity than before”, he added.
He said more than 30 lakh poor people got pucca houses and this campaign will continue to cover all the remaining entitled beneficiaries. In Shahjahanpur also, 50 thousand pucca houses were built.
For the first time development of dalits, deprived and backward is being prioritized at his level, he said.
He added “the priority of the government is to bring the benefits of development to whoever is left behind in the society and is backward.The same sentiment is reflected in our agriculture policy and in the policy related to farmers”.
The Prime Minister criticized the mentality of begrudging the work for heritage of the country and also for the development of the country.
He said such outfits wanted to keep poor and common people dependent on them.
“These people have a problem with the construction of a grand dham of Baba Vishwanath in Kashi. These people have a problem with the construction of a grand temple of Lord Shri Ram in Ayodhya. These people have a problem with the cleanliness campaign of Ganga ji. It is these people who question the army’s action against the masters of terror. These are the people who put the Made in India corona vaccine made by Indian scientists in the dock”, the Prime MInister said.
He recalled the abysmal law and order situation in the state that changed for the better in recent times.
The Prime Minister also gave the formulation UPYOGI – UP plus Yogi bahut hai upyogi (is very useful).