In a major announcement on the occasion of ‘Balidan Diwas’ in Ballia, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Friday, said that the district jail should be shifted to the outskirts of the city and a grand memorial of freedom fighters should be built there.

The chief minister also gave instructions to establish a medical college in Ballia.

Addressing a public gathering at a function organised at Ballia Police Lines, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “For five years, I have been asking for land to set up a medical college in Ballia but have not got it. The work for setting up a medical college here should have started three years ago,” he said.

“The chief secretary has studied in Ballia and he is here with us today,” the chief minister said, adding that "with our efforts, now the district will have a medical college of its own soon".

Invoking Chittu Pandey and Mangal Pandey among other freedom fighters, Yogi said that Ballia had its own history and was the land of sages and revolutionaries.

“In India’s freedom struggle, revolutionaries from this place gave a new identity to the district through their sacrifice. Mangal Pandey, the soldier whose rebellion in Barrackpore sparked the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, became an inspiration for the entire country. In 1942, when Mahatma Gandhi gave the Quit India call, Ballia declared itself as an independent nation under the leadership of great revolutionary Chittu Pandey,” he pointed out.

The chief minister added that over 50,000 people of Ballia attacked the prison and as a result, the British administration had to release all the revolutionaries from jail.

“Chittu Pandey took the role and responsibilities of the district magistrate and Mahanand Mishra of district police chief. The British government openly fired on many revolutionaries but Ballia never stepped back from sacrificing for the sake of freedom,” he remarked.

Remembering late Prime Minister Chandrashekhar, the chief minister said that his contribution in the fight started by Loknayak Jayaprakash to save democracy was unforgettable.

Yogi said that on March 12, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the 75-week programme, Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, from Sabarmati Ashram and it had been extended for one more year.

Referring to the ‘panch pran’ (five vows) made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 75th Independence Day, the chief minister urged people to follow the five pledges to make India the superpower in the world.

“If we all discharge our work with honesty then no one can stop us from making this country a superpower of the world,” he said.

Mentioning the exemplary performance of India during COVID-19 pandemic, the chief minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country fought the battle and defeated the novel coronavirus and contained its spread.

“It is under our govt that the welfare schemes are reaching the last rung of society without any discrimination,” he said.

The chief minister said that Ballia would be taken to a new height of development. “With the upcoming Ballia link expressway, people will be able to reach Lucknow in two to two and half hours. The transport minister is also from Ballia. An airport-like bus station will also be constructed here along with facilities for e-buses,” he stated.

The chief minister asked the teachers and retired teachers of degree colleges to compile the story of the revolution that broke out in the villages, towns, and streets of Ballia and assured that the government would publish it in the form of a book.

The programme was attended by Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh, Minister of State for Minority Welfare Danish Azad Ansari, Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, and other dignitaries.

Before addressing the function, the chief minister reached the district jail and paid tributes to the immortal martyr Rajkumar Bagh. During this, he also flagged off the historical procession from the district jail.