Akhilesh Yadav at one of the functions in Lucknow on Tuesday. Source: Vishal Srivastav Akhilesh Yadav at one of the functions in Lucknow on Tuesday. Source: Vishal Srivastav

WITH ASSEMBLY elections around the corner, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is a man in a hurry. On Tuesday, he inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of over 5,500 projects in about six hours, at 13 different places in the state capital.

He began by inaugurating a new building at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, from where he also inaugurated a primary health centre in Anjrauli area of Faizabad district.

Then at Mandi Parishad, he inaugurated 3,180 projects worth Rs 1,932 crore, and laid the foundation stone of 2,022 projects worth Rs 1,103 crore.

Among these were works undertaken for villages under the Janeshwar Mishra Gram Yojna worth Rs 924 crore, newly-constructed kisan bazaars at Lucknow, Saifai, Jhansi, Kannauj among others, special mandis for Lalitpur, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Mahoba and Jalaun, 183 link roads, and a 199 KW solar power plant at Naveen Mandi in Ghaziabad.

Later, at the under-construction CG City on the outskirts of Lucknow, Akhilesh dedicated the Cancer Institute, IT City and Amul plant to the public, laid the foundation stone of a new headquarters building for Sambhal district, state medical colleges in Bijnore and Chandauli, and a new building for Allahabad State University.

Another Amul plant in Kanpur was also dedicated to the public.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of a new project, Shaan-e-Awadh worth Rs 500 crore, to be developed as a commercial centre with different facilities on about 56 acres of land near Gomtinagar Extension.

In the health sector, Akhilesh inaugurated about 80 different projects worth Rs 390 crore, including the new OPD building of Balrampur Hospital, 11 community health centres, four maternity wings of 100 beds each, and 23 maternity wings of 30 beds each across the state.

He also dedicated to the public 252 roads and bridges constructed by the Public Works Department worth Rs 6,000 crore, and laid the foundation stone of 142 roads and bridges worth Rs 10,000 crore.

He dedicated a new swimming pool at JP International Centre and a hockey stadium in Gomtinagar worth Rs 23 crore to the public.

He also inaugurated a cricket stadium-cum-sports complex, which is being constructed on 137 acres of land near Shaheed Path in Lucknow and will also house a sports academy with hostel capacity of 175 men and 75 women.

Later in the day, the Chief Minister inaugurated a bus station in Kaiserbag area of Lucknow worth Rs 10 crore, and flagged off five buses under the Lohia Rural Bus Service.

Speaking at one of the functions, Akhilesh said the SP government believes in balanced development. Accusing the NDA government at the Centre of launching “new surgical strikes”, he said first it was ‘love jehad’, then the surgical strikes at the border, and now demonetisation.

He announced that he would lay the foundation stone of the Samajwadi Poorvanchal Expressway on December 22, to connect Lucknow to Ballia.

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