Varanasi, Nov 12 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called for development-oriented politics and said that the people were now voting on the basis of development and were no longer interested in vote-bank politics.
Addressing a gathering at Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, after inaugurating several development projects, the Prime Minister said the governments run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) focussed on development.
Announcing that he would be present at the UP-NRI Diwas in Varanasi in January, Modi pointed out that the face of Varanasi was changing fast, with its ancient culture intact.
"Next-generation infrastructure projects are being introduced in Varanasi and I assure the people that in times to come the entire region will prosper," he said.
"Everyone has a spiritual connect with Varanasi but now the links are being strengthened for Jal-Nabh-Thal (water, air and ground).
"Being the Pradhan Sewak and also the MP from Varanasi, I am happy to inform you that it is a matter of double joy for me that the first inland port has been inaugurated in Varanasi," Modi said.
The inland waterways will not only make the people in Varanasi and Poorvanchal prosperous but also the people in Poorvottar Bharat and West Bengal.
Modi said that underground wire cabling was being done in the cities and the first phase of the inner ring road had been completed and inaugurated.
Sewage treatment plants (STPs) have been set in motion to ensure that the filth of the city does not fall into the Ganga and the road from the Babatpur International Airport had been widened, he added.
He also rued the fact that previous governments had failed to tap the potential that water bodies in the country offered.
Modi informed the cheering crowd that work was underway on more than 100 waterways in the country. With the start of the Kolkata-Varanasi waterway, states like Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal will benefit immensely.
Other than making cleaner, environment-friendly transport possible, the use of waterways will also give a big impetus to the tourism sector.
The widening of the Babatpur airport road, he underlined, will make travel to Jaunpur, Sultanpur, Lucknow much more convenient.
The inauguration of the first phase of the inner ring road in Varanasi, built at a cost of Rs 760 crore, would ensure that there are fewer traffic congestions.
"In the last four years, modern infrastructure has been developed and it's before the people to see it... new airports, entry of rail network in north-east, places where Adivasi's live, national highways, expressways network, better roads...our aim is all- round development to transform India," he said.
The Centre has also worked on other needs of the people like cleanliness, health, and hygiene.
He announced that in the first 40 days of the launch of the medical insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat, more than 40 lakh poor people had availed free treatment.
