Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, July 16, 2022 inaugurated the 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway, which passes through seven districts of Uttar Pradesh and has been constructed at a cost of around ₹14,850 crore.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed Mr. Modi by offering him a local 'Bundeli' stole at the inauguration ceremony at Kaitheri village in Orai tehsil of Jalaun district.
"I urge every village to celebrate 75 years of India's independence. We must guard against anything that can harm our progress," the PM was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.
He had laid the foundation stone for the construction of the expressway on February 29, 2020 and it has been completed in about 28 months.
It extends from NH-35 at Gonda village near Bharatkoop in Chitrakoot district to near Kudrail village in Etawah district, where it merges with the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
The four-lane expressway, which can be later expanded into six lanes, passes through seven districts —Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah.
Besides improving connectivity in the region, the government expects the Bundelkhand Expressway to give a major boost to economic development and create thousands of jobs for the local people.
Work on creating an industrial corridor in Banda and Jalaun districts, next to the Expressway has already been started.
Tweeting about the expressway, PM Modi had written on Friday, "Tomorrow, 16th July is a special day for my sisters and brothers of the Bundelkhand region. At a programme in Jalaun district, the Bundelkhand Expressway will be inaugurated. This project will boost the local economy and connectivity."
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