Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath He performed an ‘aarti’ at Ram Ghat along the Mandakini river, and interacted with sants on the campus of the Nirmohi Akhara. (Photo: PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath He performed an ‘aarti’ at Ram Ghat along the Mandakini river, and interacted with sants on the campus of the Nirmohi Akhara. (Photo: PTI)

After inaugurating several infrastructure projects and celebrating Diwali on a grand scale in Ayodhya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday reached another religious town, Chitrakoot, where he is likely to announce various projects worth Rs 45 crore to promote tourism on Monday. During his two-day tour, he will also address the public and meet elected public representatives there. Adityanath reached Chitrakoot in the evening after visiting Hamirpur and Mahoba districts of Bundelkhand. On Sunday, he announced that Bundelkhand will be connected to Chitrakoot, Agra, Jhansi and Allahabad via an “express highway”.

After Ayodhya, the CM’s visit to Chitrakoot is being seen as part of the state government’s push to bring its religious destinations on the tourism map. He performed an ‘aarti’ at Ram Ghat along the Mandakini river, and interacted with sants on the campus of the Nirmohi Akhara. Sources said he sought suggestions from these sants regarding religious tourism development in the district and amenities required. He also performed a puja in a Shiva temple near Ram Ghat.

After performing the ‘aarti’ at Ram Ghat, Adityanath said that steps should be taken to maintain cleanliness of the river. He said that a similar Saryu ‘aarti’ has been started in Ayodhya as well. He also pointed out the significance of Chitrakoot and said that Lord Ram had spent a major period of his exile in Chitrakoot.

On Monday, the chief minister will do a ‘parikrama’ around the Kamadgiri mountain. He will also be holding meetings with BJP leaders and elected public representatives separately, apart from another meeting with administration officials to review development projects and law and order. He will then attend a function on Police Lines campus, where he will distribute certificates to beneficiaries of welfare schemes and address the public. Awanish Awasthi, principal secretary, tourism, said, “CM will lay foundation stones for projects worth Rs 45 crore related to the tourism sector in Chitrakoot under the Swadesh Darshan scheme.”

‘WATER CRISIS’ IN BUNDELKHAND

During his tour of Bundelkhand, Adityanath on Sunday visited Hamirpur, where he inaugurated projects worth Rs 188 crore. Addressing the public, he said Bundelkhand had been deprived of development and amenities and assets of the region had become a medium of making money for a few politicians and mafias in the past.

He called the “water crisis” and “anna pratha” the two major problems of Bundelkhand and said that his government was committed towards resolving both. He further said that water bodies will be revived and other mediums will be developed to provide water for drinking and irrigation.

The CM also said that ‘gau abhyaranya’ (cow sanctuaries) will be developed in the region. In Bundelkhand, CM said that industrialisation was needed to provide employment opportunities to youths in their home districts. The industrial corridor will be developed along both sides of the express highway that will connect Bundelkhand, he added.

He also met BJP leaders, MLAs and local MPs. A BJP leader said Adityanath asked to ensure that benefits of government-run schemes reached the needy, and to select a “clean image candidate” for local body elections.

In a meeting with party leaders in Charkhari area of Mahoba district, the CM asked them to identify beneficiaries of government-run schemes, hold conventions to take their feedback, and ask the beneficiaries themselves to speak from stage about the changes that had come in their lives because of benefits from the schemes. He inaugurated the ‘Govardhan nath mela’ in Charkhari as well.

BJP MLA from Mahoba Rakesh Kumar Goswami said that he had apprised Adityanath about the requirement of upgradation of the district hospital, development of a separate hospital for women and other irrigation-related issues, to which the latter gave a “positive response”. In Mahoba, the CM dedicated to the people projects worth Rs 52.56 crore and laid the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 28.33 crore.

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