Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded the naming of the Ganga Expressway after the revered river Ganga and announced that the 594-km greenfield corridor connecting Prayagraj and Meerut will be extended to Haridwar in Uttarakhand.Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the expressway, Modi said that the govt would further be working on a link expressway to Farrukhabad and connect it with other expressways.Calling it a reflection of the vision of the “double-engine govt”, Modi said that the project symbolises the blend of vikas (development) and virasat (heritage). He emphasised that rapid infrastructure development holds the key to accelerating the country’s growth.Hailing the speedy construction of Ganga Expressway, Modi said that the project saw its completion in less than five years after its foundation stone was laid by him in Dec 2021.“A project for which the foundation stone is laid gets completed within a stipulated time frame. This is the style and pace of work of the double-engine govt,” he said.Describing the expressway stretch as akin to a “teertha”, Modi said it would become a lifeline for Uttar Pradesh’s development, opening up new economic opportunities. He added that the corridor would not only facilitate faster travel but also serve as a gateway for industrial growth and employment generation.“Gone are the days when construction of a single road took years. There was a time when projects would languish in files,” he said. In an apparent swipe at the opposition parties, Modi said that foundation plaques used to get installed at the time of elections, but the project never materialised even as govts came and went.He squarely lashed out at the previous govts for ignoring the interests of the farmers who faced difficulties of storage and transportation. “Their problems would now be solved and they would get higher incomes,” he said.Modi said that new industrial corridors would be developed along Ganga Expressway, besides generating new employment opportunities for the youth and boosting the prospects of local and traditional products.“Previous govt did not even dream of industrial corridors in various places, including Hardoi,” he said.The PM said that UP, which was earlier billed as a `BIMARU’ state, was now striving to become a USD 1 trillion economy. “It is a huge target. And this requires equally big preparation,” he said.“The state, which was earlier known because of exodus of people, was now getting recognised for organising investment summits,” he said.Modi said that UP was taking a significant lead in the manufacture of semiconductors, which are crucial in these times of artificial intelligence.“The economic development of UP is today becoming India’s strategic strength as well,” he said, adding that the state was developing because it ended old politics and created a new identity for itself.“There was a time when UP was identified by its potholed roads. The same state is now home to the maximum number of expressways,” he said.
