Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that development was an important component that drove economic growth, better infrastructure and raised the living standards thereby helping in making India self-reliant.
Yogi was in Gorakhpur to dedicate and lay the foundation stones of 133 projects worth Rs 80 crore in Gorakhpur rural, Bansgaon, Sahjanwa assembly constituencies on Wednesday.
Stating that it was important to use money in the right direction for development as it was a game-changer for the citizens, the chief minister said that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh was leaving no stone unturned to develop every town and district of the state.
He also made it clear that once a project was approved, it should be ensured that it was not left incomplete as delay in completion of a project led to rise in its cost, making it unaffordable for the public.
“When the entire world was struggling amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, all the plans and projects of Gorakhpur were completed. Along with the lives of the people, we also took care of their livelihood. I urge every citizen of the state to maintain social distance, put on masks and use sanitisers to keep the deadly viral infection at bay,” Yogi said.
Appreciating the surveillance and monitoring committees for their hard work during the pandemic, the chief minister said, “We respect the members of these committees who were working selflessly to save the people of rural areas from coronavirus infection, The mantra of ‘Trace, Test and Treat’ given by the prime minister worked as a boon for the nation.”
Speaking on vaccination, Yogi said that vaccination was a protective shield which the government was administering free of cost and hence people must get both doses of vaccine on time as the pandemic created havoc in its second wave claiming the lives of numerous of our loved ones.
On children orphaned by COVID-19, Yogi said that the government had initiated a scheme to provide Rs 4,000 every month to such children and the fund would be transferred into the account of the child’s caretaker and the government would take care of their education.
“Similarly for women who were widowed by the coronavirus infection, the Central and UP governments are working towards their betterment; camps will be set up to provide family pensions and they will also be employed based on their skills and also help will be given to make them become self-reliant,” he said.
In view of the probable third wave of COVID-19, cleanliness and fogging are being done on a regular basis. Keeping in mind the apprehensions that the third wave is expected to affect children more, paediatric ICUs have been increased to over 6,400 across Uttar Pradesh. Stating that the Supreme Court had lauded the UP government’s robust model of skill mapping of workers/labourers returning from other states and they being provided with jobs in their villages, the chief minister said, “We have managed to save the livelihood of the migrants by giving them employment opportunities and making them self-reliant.”