Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the 594-km Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi district. The six-lane expressway (expandable to eight) connects Meerut to Prayagraj and reduces travel time from 11 hours to six hours.
Calling for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India), Prime Minister Modi said: “You all see how the entire world is stuck in war, turmoil and instability today. The situation in major countries is dire, but India is moving at the same pace on the path of development. External enemies do not like it, and some power-hungry people inside are trying to bring it down. However, we are not only safe, we are also breaking new development records.”
He said the Samajwadi Party (SP) does not like the progress made by the state and wants to “take it back to its ancient era”. “The Socialist Party is not only anti-development, but also anti-women,” he said, referring to the draft women’s quota law. “Recent events have revealed its mentality.” He said the state had become a “Raj jungle” under previous UP governments.
“Once upon a time, Uttar Pradesh was known for its potholes. Today, it is the state with the highest number of highways in the country. Today, Uttar Pradesh has 21 airports, including five international airports,” he said.
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Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that in December 2021, Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for the expressway and gave up the vision to complete it within the stipulated time frame.
In a post on X, the CM said that the state’s development journey will gain new momentum with the inauguration.
The highway was built at a cost $36,230 crore, connecting 12 major districts: Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj.
It is being developed according to the public-private partnership model, and its design speed is 120 kilometers per hour.
One of its main features is a 3.2 km long airstrip near Shahjahanpur for emergency landing of Air Force aircraft. The expressway is also equipped with Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), CCTV monitoring, emergency call boxes, ambulances and patrolling units to ensure safety.
