U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath, team take dip at Sangam

In a first, Cabinet meeting held at the Kumbh; slew of decisions to appease Hindu sentiments

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath takes a holy dip in the water of River Ganga at Sangam during the ongoing Kumbh Mela.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a Cabinet meeting at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj (Allahabad) on Tuesday, with most of the Ministers also taking a holy dip at the Sangam ahead of the meeting.

In a first such government meeting to be held at the Kumbh Mela, Mr. Adityanath announced a number of decisions, including some aimed at appeasing Hindu cultural sentiments as well as at instilling a feeling of “nationalism.”

Ganga Expressway

The Cabinet gave its consent in principle to the “Ganga Expressway”, to connect Allahabad/Prayagraj to western U.P. Around 600 km long, the proposed link will be the “world’s longest expressway,” Mr. Adityanath said. The four-lane road, upgradable to six lanes, would pass through Meerut, Amroha, Bulandshahr, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Farukkhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Unnao, Rae Bareli and Pratapgarh districts.

It would cost ₹36,000 crore and require acquiring of 6,556 hectares of land.

The previous BSP government under Mayawati had announced a similar project connecting the eastern parts of the State to the western region, around 1,000 km in length.

However, the project was stalled by the Allahabad High Court in 2009 on an issue over environment clearance. The Adityanath Cabinet decided to waive State GST on recently released he Bollywood film Uri , based on the “surgical strikes” conducted by the Army in 2016.

Mr. Adityanath said the film would “instill a feeling of patriotism and nationalism” among the common people, especially the youth. Briefing the media after the meeting at the the Kumbh media centre, Mr. Adityanath announced that the Bharadwaj Ashram in Allahabad would be beautified, as would the Valmiki Ashram, located on the way to Chitrakoot.

In addition, a statue of sage Valmiki and a Ramayan research institute would be built at the site.

University of yore

Speaking of Maharishi Bharadwaj, Mr. Adityanath said the sage was the likely creator of the “Pushpak Viman” and also hailed him for starting a “university” in Prayagraj (Allahabad) in the Treta Yug . Apart from this, the BJP government also announced that it would beautify Shringverpur, a site near Allahabad revered by Nishads, a riverine most-backward caste, and build a park dedicated to their icon Nishadraj.