Modi lays foundation of ‘e-way of development’
BUNDELKHAND EXPRESSWAY It will create thousands of jobs and connect the common people with facilities in bigger cities, says the PM
KANPUR : Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Bundelkhand Expressway in Chitrakoot on Saturday and said it would prove to be the ‘expressway of development’ for the region.
The 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway will pass through Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot, Banda, Hamirpur and Jalaun districts, connecting one of the most backward regions of the country to the national capital through the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and the Yamuna Expressway.
Modi began his speech here by invoking Hindu deities Lord Ram, Laxman and Sita. Speaking in local dialect, he called Chitrakoot as the land where Lord Ram, Laxman and Sita lived (during their exile).
Then switching over to Hindi, the PM said: “The expressway project will take Bundelkhand on the path of development and prove to be the ‘expressway of development’ for the region.”
“With a project cost of Rs 15,000 crore, the Bundelkhand Expressway will create thousands of job opportunities and connect the common people with facilities in bigger cities,” Modi said and added: “Be it Bundelkhand Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway or the proposed Ganga Expressway; they will all increase connectivity in Uttar
Pradesh and increase job prospects and avenues.”
Recalling the state of affairs in the Bundelkhand region in the past, and hitting out at the previous governments, Modi said, “You must have seen, in the past decades, how in the name of Bundelkhand and farmers, packages worth thousands of crores of rupees were announced, but they did not benefit farmers. But now the country has come out of that phase and every single paisa is reaching its rightful beneficiaries.”
Modi said “a provision of Rs 3,700 crore has been made for the Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor in this year’s budget. These two projects (Defence Corridor and Bundelkhand Expressway) are interlinked. The Bundelkhand Expressway will give speed to Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor.”
The expressway will supplement the Defence Corridor that was announced by the central government in February 2018.
The Prime Minister then launched 10,000 farmers’ producer organisations (FPOs) all over the country.
Modi also remembered Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh (who lived in Chitrakoot for a long time), saying that only two days ago the country remembered him on his death anniversary. “It was from Chitrakoot that Nanaji Deshmukh began his efforts towards taking India on the path of self-reliance,” the Prime Minister said.