"American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good,” this famous quote of one of the greatest US presidents of all times, John F Kennedy, fits perfectly into the context of today’s Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The increasing connectivity across the state with the opening of new expressways and construction and expansion of new and existing roads has fast tracked development of the state on multiple fronts, claimed a spokesman of the government here on Sunday evening.
As the Yogi government completes six months of its second term on September 25, the government has much to celebrate in terms of development works carried out during the period. The Yogi government has started tapping the immense potential of the state in these six months of which the foundation was laid during its first term. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, radical changes have been made in the field of infrastructure development of the state. Who would have thought that Uttar Pradesh, the BIMARU state, once infamous for mafia raj, hooliganism, corruption and crime, where big traders were once afraid to set up their industries, would emerge as a model of development and become the first choice of investors from all over the world in just five years of a government. But, it all happened with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s right intent, comprehensive vision, commitment and perseverance to achieve his development goals for the state.
The network of expressways spread over 1,225 km in UP has not only made travel easier and faster, but is also leading to development of industrial hubs on both sides of the expressways, giving impetus to the development of the state. Whether it is about connecting economically backward Purvanchal and Bundelkhand with expressways, or building Agra-Lucknow Expressway, Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and Yamuna Expressway, every expressway is opening the path of new possibilities of development for the state. Not only industrial areas, residential buildings and commercial centres, but also big infrastructure projects such as Film City, Jewar Airport, Medical Device Park, Logistics Park, Fintech City, IT City and Data Centre Park are also coming up on both sides of these expressways.
Work is also underway on six new expressways in UP, including Gorakhpur Link Expressway (91 km), Ganga Expressway (594 km), Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway (63 km), Ghaziabad-Kanpur Expressway (380 km), Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway (519 km), Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway (210 km) and Ghazipur Ballia Manjhighat Expressway (117 km). While these expressways will facilitate the movement of both people and goods, the industrial clusters being built along with it are set to boost the development journey of the state.
The Yogi government is also working tirelessly to enhance air connectivity in the state by building new domestic and international airports. The government is working on the ambitious plan of having altogether 18 airports in the state, including five international airports. Kushinagar International Airport, which has already been opened, and Jewar International Airport which is under construction, have attracted global attention. The Government has also selected five airports in Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Myorpur (Sonbhadra) and Shravasti under the government's regional connectivity scheme in order to develop them in line with the specifications for Airbus A321. Air connectivity will facilitate passenger and cargo movement, benefitting local farmers and industries.
The slogan ‘Healthy State, Happy State’, given by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, reflects the importance that the chief minister attaches to the health system of the state. The last six months have seen many innovative steps by the government to improve health infrastructure and facilities in the state. The government recently inaugurated a Health ATM in Gorakhpur and is installing Health ATMs at all the 4,600 primary health centres of the state. Besides, the government is running medical colleges in 65 districts, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Gorakhpur and Rae Bareli. Also, 22 medical colleges are currently under construction in the state. In COVID-19 management, Uttar Pradesh has excelled among states, giving more than 38 crore doses of the vaccines. Apart from this, 6.51 crore people of the state have got Ayushman card to avail health insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh.
Dubbed to be the country's biggest and most beautiful film city, the proposed Film City in Noida is a ray of hope for the talented artistes of not only Uttar Pradesh but the whole of North India. This Film City, which is being built at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore in about 1000 acres, will not only increase employment opportunities but also give new energy to the tourism of UP while checking the exodus of cinematic talents. The use of advanced technologies like animation, OTT and gaming at the proposed film institute inside the Film City will connect the youth of UP with world class job opportunities. A data centre is also to be constructed in the Film City for pre-production to post production of films.