Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged the people of Jharkhand to stay away from those who practice “shortcut politics”, as it would not do good to the country and the State.
Mr. Modi was in Deoghar in Jharkhand, famous for the Shiva temple (Babadham), to inaugurate and launch development projects worth ₹16,835 crore, including the airport and the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He asked the people to take a pledge to make Deoghar clean. “Cleanliness in Deoghar is another of my pledges for the people here and those coming to the temple town.”
“People must beware of those who practice short-cut politics... Sometime, it causes short-circuit”, said the Prime Minister addressing a crowd at the Deoghar’s College ground.
“Electricity can’t be got through short-cut politics. We’ve to be alert to those who indulge in short-cut politics as they cannot give you airports, AIIMS or other such developments.” PM Modi then made another urge to people of Deoghar to make their town clean.
He listed the BJP government’s welfare schemes and development works, especially for the poor, Adivasis and underprivileged people of Jharkhand and the country as well. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, our government ensured that the poor did not sleep on an empty stomach”, he said.
“When development took pace in Kashi (Varanasi), the number of tourists increased three times. Similarly, in Kedarnath (Uttarakhand) the arrival of tourists jumped from two lakh to nine lakh in two months. When tourism flourishes, local people, the poor, dalits, adivasis, everyone benefits. In Deoghar too, all sections of the society will be benefitted”, Mr. Modi said.
“Whatever work is being done today, shouldn’t it have been done earlier? But, earlier, it was all not Seva bhav for those who were in power, but satta bhav [not the will to do service, but the feeling of power] which gripped them. Otherwise, the country, after 75 years of Independence, would have moved far ahead. The BJP government is taking development everywhere, to everyone.”
The Prime Minister said earlier the governments only did foundation work. “But today, we not only lay the foundation but also inaugurate [projects]. People’s money should be spent only on the people”, he said. He promised to expand facilities for pilgrims in Deoghar so that people from across the world would come here as it has been a place for both Shiva and Shakti.
The Prime Minister later left for Patna where he is scheduled to unveil the 40-feet high Shatabdi Stambh (centenary column) built in front of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, plant a sampling of Kalpatru tree and open the centenary Memorial Garden which will have 100 varieties of medicinal plants and lay the foundation stone of the Bihar legislative assembly museum which is to showcase 100 years of the glorious journey of the House. He is also scheduled to inaugurate Bihar legislative assembly Guest House and release a book on the journey from the first Bihar assembly to the 17th.
Earlier, Mr. Modi visited the Babadham temple and offered puja to lord Shiva amid chanting of hymns by local priests. He also undertook an over 10 km long road show in the town.
PM unveiled ₹16,800-crore projects in Jharkhand
Mr. Modi also laid foundation stones for various development initiatives and inaugurated projects, with a total value of over ₹16,800 crore, including a 657-acre airport built at a cost of ₹401 crore.
The airport has a 2,500-metre-long runway, which can handle the landing and takeoff of Airbus A320 planes. He flagged off a Kolkata-bound IndiGo flight from the Deoghar airport to mark the inauguration of Jharkhand’s second airport after Ranchi.
Mr. Modi had laid the foundation stone of the Deoghar airport on May 25, 2018, as a key step toward providing direct connectivity to Baba Baidyanath Dham, which is an important religious destination for devotees from all over the country.
Mr. Modi was accorded a rousing welcome by many, including by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, on arrival to Jharkhand.
He also inaugurated the in-patient department and operation theatre services at AIIMS, Deoghar.
Mr. Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for multiple road, energy and other infrastructure projects.
It includes widening of the Palamu-Gumla road, Rehla-Garhwa bypass and the Mirza Chowki-Farakka road, besides the elevated corridor from Kutchery Chowk to Piska More and Itki RoB in Ranchi.
Widening of the Gorhar-Khairatunda road, Khairatunda-Barwa Adda section and the Ranchi-Mahulia section are also among the projects.
The Ranchi station redevelopment, Jasidih bypass newline, Godda Coach Maintenance depot, and Garhwa-Mahuria doubling are also part of the railway projects that Modi inaugurated or laid the foundation stone for.
Other projects include the creation of a facility and pipeline network at the coal-bed methane in Jharia block in Parbatpur, the Bokaro-Angul section of the Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra pipeline and LPG plants at Barhi and Bokaro.
(With inputs from PTI)
