PM Modi presents report card as Varanasi MP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech today after inaugurating several projects, appeared as a mini-report card of his achievements as an MP of his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Modi inagurated two roadways and an inland waterway in Varanasi
• He also talked about NDA government’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme
• Our government is taking sanitation and health quite seriously, he said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech today (November 12), after inaugurating several projects, appeared as a mini-report card of his achievements as an MP of his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi.

The mentions about the development works had a mix of emotional too. Modi started and ended his speech in the temple town of Kashi with Har Har Mahadev exhortations to Lord Shiva amidst chants of Modi, Modi by the crowd. He also wished the people on Chhath Puja which is popular in Poorvanchal comprising eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Talking about the development works, he said the Varanasi Ring Road Phase I which he inaugurated today will be a source of great convenience and relief for the people of Kashi. It will reduce travel time and fuel usage. And yes, going to Sarnath will also get a lot easier now, he said.

Modi said the Rs 760-crore project will allow passengers from cities such as Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Azamgarh not to enter Varanasi. He said work on Ring Road Phase II was going on in full swing and it will be completed soon.

With the construction of Ring Road, there will be no jams, pollution will be checked, time of passengers will be saved and it would be easy for the domestic and foreign tourists to reach Buddhist pilgrimage of Sarnath.

Modi inaugurated inland waterways terminal in Varanasi and said it would give a major boost to port-led development and harnessing Jal Shakti for India's growth.

He said the trade will receive a major push with the inauguration of the Varanasi-Kolkata inland waterways. Export of carpets will be one of the beneficiaries, he said.

Narendra Modi said with the the inauguration of the Babatpur Airport highway, coming to Varanasi has just got easier. He said it was a state-of-the-art project.

Travelling to and from Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Lucknow also get easier with this project. It is a win-win for the people of Kashi.

Modi said people visit the Babatpur airport to Varanasi highway to have a glimpse of the world-class road and take selfies. The Rs 88-crore 4-lane highway will help tourists from Jaunpur, Sultanpur, Lucknow and other cities, he said.

Narendra Modi said connectivity augments tourism and employment. It also enhances people’s trust in the country.

Modi also inaugurated 140 MLD Dinapur STP towards the efforts of cleaning the Ganga. Making Kashi cleaner and healthier through sewerage projects will have a long-term impact on the city and surrounding areas, he said.

He said the Namami Gange project to clean the Ganges had reached a new milestone. Our government is not wasting money. We are utilising each and every penny on cleaning the Ganga. Projects worth Rs 23,000 crore have been approved while work on projects worth Rs 5,000 crore was in progress.

Narendra Modi said villages on the banks of the Ganga had been declared open defecation free (ODF).

Our government is taking sanitation and health quite seriously... Rural sanitation, which was less than 40 per cent four years ago is 95 per cent now, he said.

He also talked about NDA government’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme and said 2 lakh people had been rendered free treatment in 40 days. He attributed the success of all the projects to public participation.

SOURCE: India Today