NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Varanasi, Azamgarh and Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday and Sunday where he will unveil and lay the foundation stone of various projects.
At Azamgarh, the Prime Minister will lay foundation stone of the 340 km long Poorvanchal Expressway. The 340-km-long Purvanchal Expressway, the country's largest, will link nine districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh cities including Barabanki, Amethi, Sultanpur, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur, the state capital Lucknow as well as PM's parliamentary Constituency Varanasi, directly with Lucknow and Delhi. It will also be linked with the 302-km-long Lucknow-Agra Expressway and 165-km-long Yamuna Expressway from Agra to Delhi.
"Once this expressway is complete, Delhi will be connected via the expressway to several major towns and cities of Uttar Pradesh from Noida in the west to Ghazipur in the east," the PMO said in a tweet.
The expressway project that the opposition Samajwadi Party claims was the brainchild of former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as he had laid a foundation stone for the same stretch in December 2016.
SP workers staged a demonstration at the Azamgarh district collectorate yesterday, saying the party was being denied credit.
The six-lane expressway will provide a smooth ride between the state capital and Ghazipur in eastern UP, where the BJP is trying to consolidate its position ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The Rs 23,000-crore expressway will be constructed in three years, an official said.
In Varanasi on the same day, the Prime Minister will dedicate and lay the foundation stone of important projects, cumulatively worth over Rs 900 crore. Among the projects to be dedicated are the Varanasi City Gas Distribution Project, and the Varanasi-Ballia EMU train.
The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for an International Convention Centre in the city.
The foundation stone will be laid for the Panchkoshi Parikrama Marg, and several projects under the Smart City Mission and Namami Gange.
On Sunday, Modi will visit Mirzapur, where he will dedicate the Bansagar Canal to the nation.
"This project will provide a big boost to irrigation in the region, and will be greatly beneficial for the farmers of Mirzapur and Allahabad districts of Uttar Pradesh," the PMO said.
He will address another rally at Kachnar village there in the afternoon and also meet BJP workers at Varanasi's DLW guest house. On Sunday, he will address a public meeting in Mirzapur.
He will also dedicate the Bansagar Canal Project to the nation there and lay the foundation stone for the Mirzapur Medical College.
He will inaugurate 108 Jan Aushadhi Kendras in the state. He will also dedicate a bridge over Ganga at Balughat, Chunar, which will facilitate connectivity between Mirzapur and Varanasi.
The Mirzapur Lok Sabha constituency is represented by Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre. BJP president Amit Shah also visited Mirzapur recently.
The Apna Dal faction today said the prime minister's Mirzapur visit indicated a further cementing of ties between the two allies.
At the rally in Kachnar village, Modi will inaugurate or formally launch work on development projects worth Rs 1,000 crore, according to UP minister Neelkanth Tiwari.
The projects include a perishable cargo centre, road repair schemes, remodelling of a town hall, a community health centre, a cancer hospital, a heritage walk, a BPO centre, and a new train service to Ballia.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his cabinet colleagues along with Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Manoj Sinha and Dharmendra Pradhan will attend the rally.
(With inputs from online desk and PTI)