PM hails cow as mother, takes a dig at opponents 'talking about cow a crime for some'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Kashi for the second time within 12 days on Thursday, inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of a total of 22 projects worth Rs 870 crore, including major ones in the poll-bound state, such as the Kharkianv Amul milk plant.

Varanasi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Kashi for the second time within 12 days on Thursday, inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of a total of 22 projects worth Rs 870 crore, including major ones in the poll-bound state, such as the Kharkianv Amul milk plant.

Addressing the public after laying the foundation stones and inaugurating projects, the PM noted that "Varanasi and surrounding areas have today become a witness to similar huge steps being taken to benefit villages, farmers and livestock farmers in Uttar Pradesh and in the whole country".

"Speaking about a cow was turned into a crime by some people earlier. While it can be akin to a crime for some, for us the cow is our mother, and is revered.", Modi further said.

Highlighting the opening of Banas Kashi Sankul (Banas dairy foundation) in Varanasi, the PM said that India's milk production had increased by about 45% compared to six or seven years ago, and currently supplies 22% of the global milk production, and underlined the power of collaboration between the government and the cooperative.

Modi, apart from the dairy foundation, also inaugurated a biogas power plant near the Ramnagar milk plant, in a bid to increase natural farming in the state.

He made a push for the benefits the citizens will be able to avail from the Swamitva scheme under Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, saying the scheme will help sort out illegal occupation issues at the grassroots level and make villages as well as farmers self-reliant.

More than 23 lakh 'Gharaunis' (rural residential ownership documents) have been prepared for the 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh, and more than 21 lakh families have received these documents prepared to prevent illegal occupation, he further noted.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated multiple urban development projects in Varanasi. These include six projects of the redevelopment of Old Kashi wards, a parking and surface park at Beniabag, beautification of two ponds, one sewage treatment plant at village Ramna and provisioning of advanced surveillance cameras at 720 locations under Smart City Mission.

PM Modi inaugurated a 50-bed Integrated Ayush Hospital at Bhadrasi. He also laid the foundation of Rs 49 crore Government Homeopathic Medical College in tehsil Pindra under the Ayush Mission.

Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of two '4 to 6 lane' road widening projects for the Prayagraj and Bhadohi roads. The projects are believed to improve the connectivity of Varanasi and will be a step towards resolving the problem of the city's traffic congestion.

Other projects inaugurated by the Prime Minister include a Speed Breeding Facility at International Rice Research Institute, South Asia Regional Centre Varanasi, a Regional Reference Standards Laboratory at village Payakpur and an Advocate building at Tehsil Pindra.

Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are slated for early next year.

With agency inputs