Lucknow: Inaugurating the Green Corridor project and laying the foundation stone for other development works, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that Lucknow has become a symbol of the city’s welcome slogan of ‘Muskuraiye aap Lucknow mein hain’ (Smile, you are in Lucknow).Highlighting Lucknow’s development as a modern city of a new India, the CM said that the capital city of any state should provide its residents with convenience, ease of travelling, modern connectivity, and infrastructure, all of which were now visible in Lucknow.“When the idea of improving connectivity in Lucknow was laid out, defence minister Rajnath Singh provided the vision for it. Taking that vision forward, the Lucknow Development Authority implemented this project. This initiative is an important step towards making the traffic system in Lucknow smooth, organised and modern, which will provide better commuting facilities to the residents,” the CM said.He said that the state govt did not allocate a separate budget for the project and that the development authority used funds generated from freeing govt land under illegal encroachment and putting that land to proper use.“By generating resources from that land, this ambitious project worth about Rs 1,519 crore was completed,” the CM said, calling it an example of how big projects could be completed through better management of resources. To develop Lucknow, the CM said, focus was not just on infrastructure development but also on other sectors, like sanitation, better roads and modern arrangements. “People coming to the city are impressed by what they see. During the Atal Bihari Vajpayee govt, Rajnath Singh had given Lucknow the gift of Shaheed Path. Later, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and with the support of Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Kisan Path was constructed, which gave Lucknow a new identity as the outer ring road. Today, these routes are the foundation for the future expansion and development of the city,” Yogi said.“Today, there is a war in the Gulf region and there are economic challenges at the global level. However, due to strong leadership, India is moving rapidly on the path of development,” Yogi said.The CM said that Lucknow was establishing itself as an emerging sector in technology and defence production.“Due to the efforts of the defence minister, the BrahMos missile project was established in Lucknow and youth educated from AKTU, engineering colleges, polytechnics and ITIs are getting employment opportunities in their own state,” he said.Yogi spoke about the plan to develop Lucknow and its adjoining areas as the State Capital Region which would help accelerate the overall development of the capital and nearby areas.He expressed confidence that UP would also play a significant role in India’s development journey as its growth engine and the govt would work towards developing Lucknow as a centre of connectivity, investment, technology and modern infrastructure.
