PM Modi to visit Bundelkhand on Feb 15, says Yogi

Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Feb 9 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bundelkhand to inaugurate various development projects in the region on February 15, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday.
After overseeing the arrangements ahead of the Prime Minister's visit, Adityanath said the main highlight will be the inauguration of 'Pipe Peyjal Yojana', a Rs 9,000 crore project for providing piped drinking water in Bundelkhand, a region known for water scarcity and droughts.
"The project that we announced in the budget will cover every village in Bundelkhand. We have also decided that wherever monetary assistance is required, every house in every village will be provided with drinking water," Adityanath told reporters here.
In a veiled jibe at the previous SP and BSP governments in the state, Chief Minister Adityanath said that such projects should have been initiated earlier in Bundelkhand, one of the backward regions in the country.
Underlining that the region is undergoing transformative development since independence, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that the piped drinking water project is expected to enhance the lives of the people.
Earlier this week, the BJP government in the state had announced Rs 3,000 crore for piped drinking water scheme in Vindhya and Bundelkhand regions and some of the villages affected by low-quality water, and Rs 300 crore and Rs 200 crore for special programmes in Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand regions, respectively.
Talking about the drinking water programme, Adityanath said: "Water will be taken from rivers and sent to treatment plants. After the water gets treated, it will be transported to every house in every village of Bundelkhand."
"I hope that the problem where there are complaints that people here are thirsty, tankers do not arrive on time, will be rectified. Every people should also ensure that they should use the water judiciously," he said.
He further said that the government will aim to connect every village in the region with piped drinking water within three years.
Furthermore, Adityanath said that the Defence Corridor project in the Bundelkhand region, which was first announced by Prime Minister Modi in last year's Uttar Pradesh Investors' summit, will be inaugurated as well. The corridor aims to create around one lakh jobs in the region.
The state government has also invited international arms manufacturers to set up their units in the proposed defence corridor, with an aim to boost the Centre's 'Make in India' initiative.
Chief Minister Yogi said that Prime Minister Modi will also visit Varanasi on February 19 on the occasion of 'Magh Purnima' and will dedicate projects worth over Rs 2,000 crore to the people. (ANI)