PM Narendra Modi in Varanasi | Photo Credit: ANI

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 'Inland Waterways Terminal' at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on Monday. This is the first of the four multi-modal inland waterway terminals being built on the Ganga river. The terminals are part of the Jal Marg Vikas project being implemented by the Inland Waterways Authority of India and funded by the World Bank.

As part of the inauguration, PM Modi received a container consignment at the terminal. This is a historic development as it is the country’s first container consignment to be sent on an inland waterways vessel post-Independence. This consignment contained cargo of a leading food and beverage company and it had set sail from Kolkata at the end of October.

The other three terminals as part of the project are coming up at Sahibganj, Haldia, and Gazipur. Once complete, the project aims to allow for commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1,500-2,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT) on the River Ganga. PM Modi also said that projects worth Rs 23,000 crore have been approved under the Namami Gage mission so far.

The Prime Minister launched the Inland Waterways Terminal in Varanasi during a visit to his parliamentary constituency. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were also present on the occasion.

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Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the first multi modal terminal constructed on River Ganga pic.twitter.com/qH3eSE9fL6 — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 12, 2018

The PM is also slated to inaugurate several other development projects in Varanasi, some of them linked to the cleaning of the Ganga river.

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These include a Rs 254-crore 140-MLD (million litres per day) sewage treatment plant (STP), pumping stations at Chaukaghat (140 MLD), Phulwaraia (7.6 MLD) and Saraiya (3.7 MLD) worth Rs 34 crore, as per an official of the National Clean Ganga Mission (NMCG). Other projects being launched by the PM include the construction of a relieving trunk sewer, and rising mains and interceptor sewers along Varuna and Assi for 28 km with a cost of Rs 156 crore .

PM Modi will also launch two national highways in Varanasi - the 'Ring Road and Babatpur Airport Road'. The Babatpur Airport highway connects the city to the airport and goes on to Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Lucknow. On the other hand, the Ring Road opens an easier and more convenient access to Sarnath, a key Buddhist pilgrimage site.

"The 16.55 km Varanasi Ring Road Phase I has been completed at a cost of Rs 759.36 crore, while the work of the four-laning and construction of 17.25 km Babatpur-Varanasi road on NH-56 (National Highway-56) cost Rs 812.59 crore," news agency IANS quoted an official as saying.