Varanasi: UP minister of finance and Parliamentary affairs and minister in charge of Varanasi district, Suresh Khanna, on Saturday, spoke about 12 years of Central govt under PM Narendra Modi and detailed information about public welfare and development schemes.He said 10 Smart Cities were created in UP and on the same lines, chief minister Yogi Adityanath turned seven cities of the state into Smart Cities. Describing the historic achievements of Varanasi district over past 12 years, he said there has been a cultural, spiritual and religious resurgence of Kashi. Through the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham project, the abode of Baba Vishwanath was given a grand, divine and world-class form, due to which crores of devotees received easy darshan and modern facilities. He said under the Namami Gange campaign, comprehensive redevelopment, beautification, lighting arrangements, cleanliness and environmental conservation of the Ganga ghats were ensured. Comprehensive development was carried out of the five major halting points of the Panchkoshi Parikrama Path—Kardameshwar, Bhimchandi, Rameshwar, Shivpur and Kapildhara. Approximately Rs. 97 crore was spent on the widening of the Panchkoshi route and approximately Rs. 39.3 crore on religious and tourism development. As many as 42 dharamshalas, ponds, ghats and pilgrimage facilities were developed. Crores of rupees were spent on the Buddha Theme Park in Sarnath, the light and sound show, upgradation of tourist guest houses, the development of the Sarangnath temple and Buddhist tourism facilities. The conservation and development of Sant Ravidas birthplace Seergovardhan, Kaalbhairav temple, Kedareshwar, Omkareshwar and other ancient religious sites were carried out. The Kashi Yatra app was developed to provide devotees with a multilingual digital facility. He said construction of Ring Road, widening of national highways, four-lane roads, flyovers, railway overbridges and connecting roads completely transformed the traffic system of the district. Over past 12 years, 536 major large projects related to roads, bridges, drinking water, sewerage, STP, education, health, energy, tourism, urban development and police welfare etc, costing more than Rs. 36,211 crore, had been completed and dedicated to public. In addition, the construction work of various projects costing more than approximately Rs. 25,000 crore is in progress.
