Lucknow: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday appealed to Kanwar pilgrims to maintain discipline during the upcoming kanwar yatra, assuring them that state govt would provide security and all necessary facilities while ensuring that no one disrupts the annual pilgrimage.The CM made the remarks while inaugurating and laying foundation stones for 90 development projects worth Rs 868 crore in Ghaziabad.Referring to previous govts, Yogi said the kanwar yatra was once halted on the pretext of maintaining law and order.“When I became chief minister, I reviewed the preparations and realised the yatra could pass off peacefully. I decided there would be no restrictions and assured that there would be no riots because a true devotee never indulges in indiscipline,” he said.Targeting the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP), Yogi alleged that both parties were uncomfortable with the saffron colour, pointing to his saffron kurta.“These parties had banned the kanwar yatra and objected to chants of ‘Har Har’ and ‘Bam Bam’, while remaining silent when traders were attacked and country-made pistols were used,” he said.Yogi said the country’s biggest Kanwar Yatra, stretching from Haridwar to Ghaziabad, was set to begin soon and would attract devotees and visitors from across India and abroad.Highlighting Ghaziabad’s transformation, Yogi said the city, once associated with poor sanitation, hooliganism and gang wars, had emerged as a model of good governance. “Today, Ghaziabad features in cleanliness rankings, has excellent roads and is linked by the country’s first rapid rail corridor between Delhi and Meerut,” he said.He claimed that the SP had opposed the rapid rail project but his govt revived it in 2017. “The journey between Meerut and Delhi, which earlier took three hours, can now be completed in about 40 minutes,” he added.Praising PM Narendra Modi, Yogi said the PM had provided the country with a model of good governance over the past 12 years.Referring to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s oft-quoted remark that only 15 paise of every rupee spent by govt reached beneficiaries, Yogi said BJP’s “double-engine govt” ensured that the entire amount reached the intended recipients.“With the 85 paise that disappeared earlier, govts could have provided scholarships, pensions, houses for the poor, health insurance, highways, Metro projects and airports. Instead, Congress and SP allowed that money to be siphoned off,” he alleged.The CM cited the NCR region in Uttar Pradesh as a model of development, highlighting projects such as the Rapid Rail, a 12-lane expressway, the Ganga Expressway, Hindon Airport, the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways, Noida International Airport and the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway.He said upcoming projects, including the Film City, Apparel Park, Toy Park, Medical Device Park and Electronic City, would further boost development and employment in the region.
