Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh. The newly built expressway gives a major boost to the infrastructure of Uttar Pradesh as it passes through seven districts of the state. The expressway has been built at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crore.
The prime minister had laid the foundation stone of the expressway on February 29, 2020, and it has been completed in about 28 months.
After inaugurating the expressway, the prime minister said that UP Expressway projects are connecting many neglected areas of the state.
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“Every corner of Uttar Pradesh is ready to move forward with new dreams and new resolutions. UP's identity is changing across the country as it is outperforming many advanced states," PM Modi said.
Referring to the early completion of the expressway, PM Modi said, "By delivering the projects before time, we are respecting people’s mandate and their confidence."
Coming down heavily on the culture of freebies, PM Modi said the double-engine governments in the country are not adopting the short-cut of freebies and ‘Rewri’ culture and are delivering through hard work.
“Defeat and remove freebies culture from the politics of the country,” he said.
The newly-built expressway 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.
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The four-lane expressway, which can be later expanded into six lanes, passes through seven districts -- Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah.
Besides improving connectivity in the region, the government expects the Bundelkhand Expressway to give a major boost to economic development and create thousands of jobs for the locals.
Work on creating an industrial corridor in Banda and Jalaun districts, next to the Expressway, has already been started.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the expressway, 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".
Talking 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 entire Bundelkhand," PM Modi said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, cabinet ministers, and others were among those present on the occasion
Speaking on the "culture of seeking votes by distributing freebies in our country", PM Modi said: "People of the country have to be very careful with this freebies culture. Those with freebies culture will never build new expressways, new airports or defence corridors for you. They feel that they can buy the votes by distributing freebies to the common man."
The Prime Minister emphasised that gone are the days when infrastructure and facilities were limited to large cities and selected areas of the country.
He asserted that due to the expressway, the region will see many opportunities of development, employment and self employment.
The Prime Minister said the projects in Uttar Pradesh are connecting many areas that have been ignored in the past.
"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 vigour," the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister also talked about improved air connectivity in Uttar Pradesh.
He said 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.
(With agency inputs)
