Lucknow: Acknowledging the contribution of more than 1 lakh farmers across 12 districts in the construction of the Ganga Expressway, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said the project will provide a massive push for farmers, open up employment opportunities for youth, help in the preservation of UP’s faith and culture, and ensure the state’s prosperity.Yogi gave credit to BJP’s double engine govt under PM Narendra Modi for the project and said it would improve connectivity within the state and open up further avenues for industrialisation and investment.“Along with the expressway, integrated industrial clusters and logistics hubs are being developed at 27 locations, which will not only accelerate movement but also open new doors for investment and employment. This expressway, a symbol of the double engine govt’s foresight, will take UP to new heights. It is the resolve of the double engine govt that whichever project we lay the foundation stone for, will also be inaugurated by us,” he said, thanking the PM for laying the foundation stone for the Ganga expressway in Dec 2021.The CM said the country was witnessing the realisation of the idea of a ‘New India’, and a ‘New UP” was contributing to its growth with the development of modern infrastructure. He credited the PM for this transformation, saying it was possible through his emphasis on clear policy, clean intent, and effective execution.Taking jibes at the Opposition, Yogi said that before BJP formed govt in the state in 2017, UP was in the throes of nepotism, casteism, riots, anarchy, curfew, and mafia raj. Imagining that the state would have development, employment and investment was difficult then, he said, adding that in the past nine years under a BJP govt, a vast network of nearly 4 lakh km of expressways, highways, district roads, and rural roads has been developed in the state.In addition to this, interstate connectivity was strengthened, every district headquarters was connected with 4-lane roads and every block and tehsil headquarters with 4-lane and 2-lane roads, the CM said.“By inaugurating the country’s first Rapid Rail between Delhi-Meerut, the PM has done historic work in bridging distances. The efforts made to advance the immense potential of UP are today clearly visible on the ground in the form of expressways, Rapid Rail, Inland Waterways, Metro, and the Railway’s Dedicated Freight Corridor, which are proof of the strength of the double engine govt,” he said.He said the expressways being developed in the state were not only bridging distances but were providing a base for development of industrial projects like the Defence Manufacturing Corridor.The CM added that along with the Ganga Expressway, integrated industrial clusters and logistics hubs were being developed at 27 locations, which will open new doors for investment and employment in the state. He said that for the construction of the 594km-long expressway, about 18,000 acres of land had been acquired from farmers, while around 7,000 acres had been acquired for industrial clusters and logistics hubs.“More than 1 lakh farmers across 12 districts from Meerut to Prayagraj have made an important contribution to making this project successful by providing land, for which I express my gratitude to them. It is the result of this participation and transparent land acquisition policy that this ambitious project is complete and ready today,” the CM said.
