Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday interacted with the top brass of his parliamentary constituency Varanasi to take a stock of the situation on coronavirus and to discuss various development projects via video conferencing. Modi chaired an online meet with party leaders and district administration officials in which Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister including Neelakanth Tiwari Ravindra Jaiswal, MLA from North Varanasi were also present for the discussion.
The presentation also highlighted the progress made in the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir complex by using a drone video of the layout. The presentation dwelled upon development of world-class communication and connectivity infrastructure in Varanasi.
The efforts undertaken on effective management of COVID-18 were also discussed, an official statement said. Planning should be done for development of entire ecosystem, cargo shipping and freight movement, as is being done in major port citi es.He also directed the officials to complete the expansion and modernisation work of the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport on priority, so that Kashi becomes one of the leading cities to provide state-of-the-art rail, road, water and air connectivity, the statement said.
In the two- hour meeting, various aspects of the progress made in the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir and efforts undertaken to contain the deadly spread of the coronavirus were discussed. Modi also took a detailed review of all the projects which are being undertaken in Varanasi in which he instructed the concerned officials to complete the projects within the given timeline maintaining the quality.
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Modi also interacted with the authorities about the current medical facilities, hospital beds available and what efforts are being taken to tackle the pandemic crisis. He directed that appropriate skill mapping of the returning migrant workers be taken up on priority and they should be provided gainful employment on the basis of their skill sets.
Feedback was also taken about the positive impact of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana and state government-led COVID-19 relief schemes.
Reviewing the progress of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Project, Modi directed that all such old temples, which were unearthed during the development of the Kashi Vishwanath Parisar, should be protected and preserved.
Help of experts should be taken to maintain their historical and architectural legacy.Carbon dating should also be conducted, he said. The Kashi Vishwanath Trust should prepare a route map with appropriate tourist guides to facilitate the pilgrims who make a visit in this complex, he suggested.
The review meet was informed that more than 100 major projects within the financial outflow of around Rs 8,000 crore are currently being undertaken in Varanasi pertaining to creation of social and physical infrastructure like hospital buildings, national waterways, ring roads, by-pass, international convention centre and a 'Rudraksh' built with Indo-Japan collaboration.
Giving an insight of the meeting, Neelakanth Tiwari said, "PM Modi always interacts with all the concerned authorities on a regular basis regarding the developmental projects in Kashi. He also chalked out a plan to fight coronavirus."
He went on to add, "In every two months, PM interacts with the authorities to take a stock of the situation and to discuss the on-going development on development projects and guides us. Earlier too, he had discussed about Kashi and what steps are being taken to enhance development in the city.
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Talking about the Sevapuri model block, the minister added, "Discussions related to Sevapuri model block and its on-going development were also undertaken by PM. We also considered the development of Vishwanath Corridor. He focussed on enhancing the pace of development and welfare projects for providing quality services to the people of Varanasi to improve their standard of living."
It is to be mentioned that Niti Ayog had selected Sevapuri block to develop it as the first model block of the country by saturating its villagers with all the govt schemes.
The prime minister also reviewed the progress of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat announcements and directed that the benefits of this scheme should reach the citizens expeditiously. The progress of PM SVANidhi Scheme for street vendors should be closely monitored, he said.
All street vendors should be equipped with appropriate technology and infrastructure, for helping them switch to cashless transactions, he said.
The prime minister emphasised that farmers are one of the key priorities of the government and intensive efforts should be made to enhance their incomes.He directed for promotion of beekeeping and highlighted the potential of bee wax in augmenting the income of the farmers. (With inputs from PTI)
