Highlights
- 296 km four-lane Bundelkhand Expressway has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crore
- The expressway would give a major boost to connectivity and industrial development in the region
- The foundation stone of the four-lane expressway was laid by PM Modi on February 29, 2020
Bundelkhand Expressway news: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Jalaun district on Saturday (July 16). The 296 km four-lane Expressway has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crore.
The expressway would give a major boost to connectivity and industrial development in the region.
The Modi government has focused greatly on connectivity and infrastructure, said officials. The budgetary allocation of Rs 1.99 lakh crore for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in Budget 2022-23 is the highest ever. This is a jump of over 550 per cent when compared to the allocation of about Rs. 30,300 crore in 2013-14.
In the last seven years, the length of National Highways in the country has gone up by more than 50 per cent from 91,287 km (as on April 2014) to around 1,41,000 km (as on December 31, 2021).
PM Modi laid foundation stone of Bundelkhand Expressway:
The foundation stone of the four-lane expressway, which will connect Chitrakoot with the Lucknow-Agra Expressway, was laid by PM Modi on February 29, 2020. The project took around 28 months to complete.
Features and cost of Bundelkhand Expressway:
The 296 km, four-lane expressway has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crore, under the aegis of Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), and can later be expanded up to six lanes as well.
Along with improving connectivity in the region, the Bundelkhand Expressway will also give a major boost to economic development. Work on the creation of industrial corridor in Banda and Jalaun districts, next to the Expressway, has already started.
"The government has been committed to enhancing connectivity across the country, a key feature of which has been the work towards improvement in road infrastructure," an official statement issued said.
Places to be benefited from Bundelkhand expressway:
Extending from National Highway (NH)-35 at Gonda village near Bharatkoop in Chitrakoot district to near Kudrail village in Etawah district, where it merges with the Agra-Lucknow expressway, it passes through seven districts, viz. Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah.
Security arrangements:
With a view to ensure proper security during the PM's programme, Jalaun SP Ravi Kumar informed that around 5 km area of the venue has been taken in the security cordon and the administration has asked all the security personnel to remain stationed at their respective points of deployment in view of the PM's programme.
An art gallery is also being set up in which the fort of Mahoba, Jagmanpur fort of Jalaun and the defense corridor have been shown. Besides the RAF (Rapid Action Force) and PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary), policemen have been deployed in the area, he said.
Intensive checking campaign was being conducted in all the hotels and restaurants of Orai, the district headquarter. Bomb disposal squad was also been camped.
To help the beneficiaries of different government schemes reach the public meeting site, roadways buses were made available at the municipal and nagar panchayat headquarters of the district. Apart from this, buses were also provided at the development block and village level to take the beneficiaries from the rural areas to the meeting place, the SP said.
Bundeli artistes of Bundelkhand performed their art at the function.
(With agencies inputs)
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