New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday landed on the newly constructed airstrip in a C-130 Hercules aircraft to inaugurate the Purvanchal Expressway at Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, over three years after he had laid its foundation in Azamgarh in July 2018.
After Hercules, the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft Sukhoi and Mirage also landed at the airstrip with an airshow.
On Monday, the PM had tweeted photographs of the expressway with the caption, “Tomorrow is a special day for the growth trajectory of Uttar Pradesh. At 1:30 PM, the Purvanchal Expressway will be inaugurated. This project brings with it multiple benefits for UP’s economic and social progress.”
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, besides other BJP leaders, joined him on Tuesday.
Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to go to the Assembly polls next year.
Addressing a gathering, Modi said, “Those who doubt the capabilities of UP and its people should visit Sultanpur and witness their strength. The modern expressway stands on what was just a piece of land some 3-4 years ago.”
“The previous state governments neglected the development of the eastern region. This airstrip on the Purvanchal Expressway will give a message to those who ignored national security.”
Yogi Adityanath said the expressway will become the lifeline of the development of Eastern UP. “Under a greater development push, we are focusing on an overall and inclusive development across the state.”
A 3.5-km-long stretch near Sultanpur has been developed as an airstrip for the emergency landing of aircraft, he said.
The 341-km-long Purvanchal Expressway is one of the biggest completed state-level infrastructure projects in UP with an estimated cost of about Rs.22,496 crores. The six-lane expressway begins at Chandsarai village in Lucknow and runs for 18 km until the Haidaria village of Ghazipur district before culminating near the National Highway 31.
It will link the NCR with the Eastern UP and reduce travel time between Lucknow and Ghazipur to 3.5 hours, with the Yamuna Expressway connecting Noida to Agra and the Lucknow-Agra expressway linking the state capital.
Comprising 18 flyovers, 7 railway tracks on bridges, 7 long bridges, 104 minor bridges, 13 interchanges, and 271 highway underpasses, the expressway will cover Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau, and Ghazipur districts of Uttar Pradesh.
(Avya Mathur)