The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Saturday, inaugurated the Bundelkhand Expressway at Kaitheri village in Orai tehsil of Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, State Ministers, and People’s representatives were among those present on the occasion
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister recalled the glorious tradition of hard work, valor, and cultural richness of the Bundelkhand region.
He said, “the land that produced countless warriors, where the devotion for India flows in blood, the prowess and hard work of local sons and daughters have always brightened the name of the country.”
Speaking about the difference that will be brought about by the new expressway, the Prime Minister said, “The distance from Chitrakoot to Delhi has been reduced by 3–4 hours by the Bundelkhand Expressway, but its benefit is much more than that.”
This expressway will not only give speed to vehicles here, but it will accelerate the industrial progress of the entire Bundelkhand.”
The Prime Minister emphasized that gone are the days when such great infrastructure and facilities were limited to large cities and selected areas of the country.
Now, under the spirit of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, even the remote and neglected areas are witnessing unprecedented connectivity.
Benefits of the Expressway
He continued that because of the expressway, the region will see many opportunities for development, employment, and self-employment.
He said that connectivity projects in Uttar Pradesh are connecting many areas which have been ignored in the past.
For example, Bundelkhand Expressway passes through seven districts, viz. Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah.
Similarly, other Expressways are connecting every nook and corner of the state, leading to a situation where “every corner of Uttar Pradesh is ready to move forward with new dreams and new resolutions”.
The Double-Engine Government is working in that direction with renewed vigor, he said.
Regarding improving air connectivity in the state, the Prime Minister said that new airport terminals have come 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.
The 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.
The Prime Minister remarked that in the UP in which the Saryu canal project took 40 years to complete, in the UP where the Gorakhpur Fertilizer Plant was closed for 30 years, in the UP where the Arjun Dam project took 12 years to complete, the UP where Amethi rifle factory was lying with only one name board, in the UP 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.
Shri Modi remarked on the change of pace and said that the doubling of railway lines increased to 200 Km from 50 km per year.
Common Service Centers
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.
The Prime Minister noted that the stream of development on which the country is moving today has two aspects at its core. One is the intention and the other is decorum (Irada and Maryada).
We are not only creating new facilities for the present of the country but are also building the future of the country. Projects completed in Uttar Pradesh fully honor the ‘Maryada’, the limit of deadlines, he said.
Projects like upgrading of facilities and renovation at Baba Vishwanath Dham, Gorakhpur AIIMS, Delhi-Meerut Expressway, and Bundelkhand Expressway are examples of this as it was the present government that both laid the foundation and dedicated these projects to the nation.
By delivering the projects on time, we are respecting people’s mandate and their confidence, he said.
He exhorted the people to organize many events in the run-up to the upcoming Independence Day. We should remember our freedom fighters and create an atmosphere of new resolution in the next one month, he said.
The 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, has 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.
Harms of Freebie Culture
The Prime Minister brought attention to the issue of the culture of seeking votes by distributing freebies in our country. He warned that this freebie 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 a 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.
Balanced Development
Speaking about balanced development, the Prime Minister said that as development reaches ignored and small cities, it leads to the realization of social justice.
As modern infrastructure reaches much ignored Eastern India and Bundelkhand, this amounts to social justice.
Backward districts that were left to fend for themselves are now witnessing development, this too is social justice. Toilets for the poor, connecting villages with roads and tap water too is social justice, he said.
The Prime Minister informed that the government is working continuously to ameliorate another challenge of Bundelkhand. He elaborated that the Government is working on Jal Jeevan Mission to provide piped water to every household.
The Prime Minister listed Ratauli Dam, Bhavani Dam, and Majhgaon-Chilli sprinkler irrigation projects as efforts to take the water of Bundelkhand rivers to the maximum number of local people.
Ken-Betwa link 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.
Make In India Campaign
Referring to the role of the Make In India Campaign in strengthening the small and cottage industries, 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.
The Prime Minister 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.
Bundelkhand Expressway
The government has been committed to enhancing connectivity across the country, a key feature of which has been the work towards improvement in road infrastructure.
A significant endeavor towards this was the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the Bundelkhand Expressway by the Prime Minister on 29 February 2020.
The work on the Expressway has been completed within 28 months, an indication of the work culture of New India where projects are delivered on time.
The 296 Km, the four-lane expressway has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crores, under the aegis of 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.
Along with improving connectivity in the region, the Bundelkhand Expressway will also give a major boost to economic development, resulting in the creation of thousands of jobs for the local people. Work on the creation of an industrial corridor in the Banda and Jalaun districts, next to the Expressway, has already been started.