Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the commissioning of the Purvanchal Expressway would prove to be the lifeline of eastern UP and it would end the long era of neglect of the region since Independence in 1947.
Addressing the inaugural function of the Purvanchal Expressway at Sultanpur on Tuesday, the chief minister said this expressway would be the backbone of the economy of the state's eastern region. He said the foundation stone of the Purvanchal Expressway was laid in 2018 and it was completed in barely 19 months despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The expressway has been the dream project of the state government. The project was completed in a record time despite severe restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," the chief minister said and added, “Industrial hubs will also be established at eight places on this expressway and its notification has been issued."
Yogi Adityanath said the expressway and its connectivity with other expressways, whose construction was in progress in the state, through link roads would not only reduce travel time within UP considerably, but also between UP and Delhi as well as neighbouring states.
The chief minister expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving momentum to the development of the state through the expressway, which had been constructed in a record time despite 19 months of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which had brought life to a standstill around the globe.
Yogi said that the expressway would take the development of the region, which had been neglected since independence, to new heights, bring investments and create employment opportunities in abundance. The chief minister said that the airstrip on the expressway would help Indian Air Force’s fighter planes to make emergency landing and takeoff without hassle.
Listing the major strides by the state government in the field of transport and air connectivity, the chief minister said in 2017 there were only three airports in UP and today nine airports were operational in the state and work was in progress on 11 new airports, including two international airports that were coming up at Ayodhya and Jewar in Greater Noida. Besides, he said, Metro trains were operating in four cities of the state and by the end of next month Metro trains would start running in Kanpur Nagar also.
Meanwhile, the chief minister presented a miniature model of the Ayodhya temple and an angavastram to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thanking him for honouring people’s faith
The Purvanchal Expressway is set to give a boost to the economic development of the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, especially the districts of Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur.
Meanwhile, refuting Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's allegation of poor quality of work on the Purvanchal Expressway, Bharatiya Janata Party’s UP president Swatantra Dev Singh said, “Akhilesh Yadav is troubled by the fact that the 341-km road is ready without corruption of even Re 1.”
In a tweet in Hindi, Singh said, "Akhilesh-ji is feeling troubled over the speed of the double engine government in UP. Akhilesh-ji is thinking how corruption of even one rupee has not been committed and the 341-km Purvanchal Expressway is ready. Had he been in power, he would have constructed a two-lane expressway, while the money meant for the rest of the four lanes would have filled his coffers."