Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that no society or nation could touch the heights of development by forgetting its heritage and past.
“The past always stays with the individual and society,” he added.
After performing ‘bhoomi pujan’ and laying the foundation stone of Naval Gallantry Museum construction project, to be built at a cost of Rs 23 crore in Chak Ganjaria City near Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium, by pressing the button, Chief Minister Yogi said that the glorious moments of the past were a new inspiration for the country.
“There is an opportunity to pioneer and move forward. Today is a historic moment for Lucknow and the state, when the foundation stone for the establishment of Naval Gallantry Museum is being laid on the banks of river Gomti, known as Adiganga, in CG City, cherishing this new aura of development in this emerging area. This museum will become a new medium for the growing strength of the Indian Navy,” he remarked.
Chief Minister Yogi also planted saplings at the site on the occasion. Children of Bhatkhande Sanskriti University presented the national anthem and the band of the Indian Navy rendered the song. The chief minister expressed confidence that the project will prove to be a milestone in terms of waterways of UP and employment of youth.
The chief minister said that before 2014 UP was a landlocked state. “People used to say that nothing can go out of UP through waterways but there was no truth in this. About 40-50 years ago, we used to hear in villages that water transportation was done by boats. When there was no network of roads and no effective train movement, the only means of transportation and carrying goods from one place to another was through rivers and waterways,” Yogi said.
The chief minister said that there were sufficient water resources in UP. “Considering the medium and capacity of these rivers, UP is accelerating the process of forming a State Waterway Authority,” he said and added, “Through its better use, we can use this potential of water transport within the state to transport any item from one place to another.”
He said Prime Minister Modi had connected the country’s first inland waterway between Varanasi and Haldia, which was operational. He said the prime minister gave us the means to free ourselves from being a landlocked state. “Now, if the State Waterway Authority will contribute by working with the authorities of the Government of India, it will help us in increasing this capacity of UP,” he added.
The chief minister expressed gratitude to officers for choosing Lucknow for the Bravery Museum.
“Today is also Police Memorial Day. About 64 years ago, CRPF soldiers deployed in Ladakh for the security of the border were treacherously attacked by the enemy country. In this attack, our soldiers made sacrifices for the country. In the memory of the soldiers belonging to the country’s army, paramilitary and police forces, who made the supreme sacrifice for the motherland, 21st October is celebrated as Police Memorial Day. The country remembers them and pays tribute to them on this day,” Chief Minister Yogi remarked.
He added that it was a moment of pride that INS Gomti, which enhanced the capabilities of the Indian Navy for 34 years and strengthened its strategic position, after having been decommissioned, was going to become a part of the Bravery Museum today.
The chief minister said the museum would become a medium for the young generation to know the bravery and valour of the Indian Army and a medium to give impetus to Prime Minister Modi’s campaign of self-reliant India, which the country was witnessing today through the Make in India initiative.
The chief minister said that South Korea was known for its technology. “The dynasty there believes that their grandmother was the princess of Ayodhya. A memorial has been built in her memory in Ayodhya. She is remembered as Princess Ratna in Ayodhya and Queen Ho in South Korea. There is a feeling of reverence towards her. Two thousand years ago, Princess Ratna had reached South Korea from Ayodhya by waterway, which means even then UP was connected with waterways. We often talk of Satavahana, Chola, Buddha dynasties, but forget Dwarkadhish. Dwarka was located inside the sea. The largest means of transportation at that time was the fleet of waterway boats through which Dwarka was established as the most prosperous city. Lord Shri Krishna had done this work in Dwarka 5,000 years ago. India has a very old experience of working at sea. Lord Ram had built a bridge to reach Lanka,” Chief Minister Yogi elaborated.
The chief minister said that this year was very important. “The Navy has also got its own indigenous symbol, which was established by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. These are moments of pride,” he added.
The chief minister said that the Lucknow Development Authority had been told that Tourism, Irrigation and Forest departments would expand this programme to develop 64 acres of wetland. Also a police or military memorial should be established for the soldiers of UP who have made supreme sacrifice for the internal security of the borders and in various states in the line of duty after the independence of the country to preserve their memories, so that the future generation can develop a sense of respect for the army, paramilitary and police, he pointed out.
On this occasion, Culture and Tourism Minister Jaiveer Singh, Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, MLA Dr Neeraj Bora, Dr Rajeshwar Singh, Yogesh Shukla, Amresh Kumar, Chief Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (Western Naval Command) Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Lieutenant General NS Raj Subramaniam, Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad, Principal Secretary (Tourism) Mukesh Meshram and others were present.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s love for children was also visible at the event. He enquired about the well-being of the little girl present at the foundation stone laying ceremony. On the seventh day of Navratri, he applied ‘tika’ on the forehead of the girl and also gave her ‘dakshina’.
