Making a scathing attack on previous governments for wasting thousands of crores in the name of making Ganga river clean and pollution-free and neglecting rivers across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that during the last four years the way the development work was carried out showed that the BJP had done politics only for development and not for vote bank. “It is also a historic day when for the first time since Independence, waterways transportation began in the country,” he said, adding that it is also the ‘new vision of new India’.
Addressing an impressive gathering at Wajidpur near Harahuwa where he inaugurated projects worth over Rs 2,400 crore on Monday evening, the Prime Minister said: “Contrary to previous governments, we are spending money in making the Ganga river clean and, in this direction, projects worth Rs 23,000 crore were sanctioned and out of the same projects worth Rs 5000 crore are being allocated for Namami Gange project.”
He said that in the last four years several sewage treatment plants were launched and out of them some were inaugurated, including Deenapur Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), to ensure that not a single drop of sewer water goes into the rivers of Ganga and Varuna. “And all these could become possible only with the cooperation of the people,” he said.
Modi said that the government was aiming at the overall development of the waterways transportation which began from Haldia to Varanasi and would help the ancient city to become a gateway to development of the entire eastern India. “When four years ago, we had decided to start inland waterways between Haldia and Varanasi, the Opposition party leaders had made several comments that it could not be possible but today it has become a reality when container vessel (cargo) came here carrying 16 containers,” he said, adding that it was not only cheaper transportation but also eco-friendly and hectic works were going on for the development of more than 100 such inland waterways in the country.
Earlier, Modi had inaugurated the country’s first multi-model terminal at Ralhupur in trans-Ganga Ramnagar development worth Rs 208 crore where he also welcomed the first cargo from Haldia. “This will write a new chapter in the development of this city which would become a confluence of nature, culture and adventure,” he said, adding that this would not only help vegetable growers of the region to send their products to other markets in eastern India easily but would also help the city to become a global hub for carpet exports from the region.
Modi began his address using local Bhojpuri dialects greeting people for recent festivals and also ended the same wishing good luck for the ongoing famous festival of Chhath. “We’re working on the development of good connectivity and, in this direction, hectic work has been done during the last four years to improve road, rail, water and air transportation,” he said, adding that prior to independent there was good waterways transportation in the country but shockingly after independence the government had totally neglected the same.
Earlier, the function was also addressed by the Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Mahendra Nath Pandey. The function was also attended by deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Union minister Satya Pal, UP minister Suresh Khanna, MP Ram Charit Nishad and many others.
