Purvanchal Expressway launch: All you need to know

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 341-kilometre Purvanchal Expressway on Tuesday in the Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Ahead of the launch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed on the newly-launched expressway in a C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft. He also witnessed an airshow by the Indian Air Force on the 3.2 kilometre airstrip, which will enable landing and take-off of fighter planes in case of emergency.

Here's all you need to know about the new expressway in UP:
* The expressway will allow commuters to drive from Delhi to the far east corner of Uttar Pradesh bordering Bihar in a little over 10 hours.
* It is a six-lane expressway that can be expanded to eight lanes in future.
* It starts from Chandsarai village in Lucknow and ends at Haidaria village located on National Highway 31 in Ghazipur (18 km from UP-Bihar border).

* It has been constructed at an estimated cost of about Rs 22,500 crore.
* The expressway is going to give a boost to the economic development of eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh, especially the districts of Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur.
* PM Modi had laid the foundation of the Purvanchal Expressway in Azamgarh.
'Purvanchal Expressway pride of UP'
* When I laid the foundation for Purvanchal Expressway three years ago, I never imagined that I would land on it in an aircraft in such a short span of time.

* "Those who have any doubt on capabilities of UP, on capabilities of people of UP, should come to Sultanpur today to witness the capability of the state. Such a modern expressway has now come up where there was just a piece of land 3-4 years ago," PM Modi said at the inauguration event.

* In a sharp dig at the previous SP government, PM Modi said those who were in power earlier used to avoid greeting him or standing next to him whenever he visited the state, fearing they will upset their vote bank.
* Previous governments handed over eastern Uttar Pradesh to 'mafiawaad' and poverty. BJP government is now writing new chapter of development: PM Modi
* This expressway will connect Lucknow to the smallest of towns in UP: PM Modi
* Work on industrial corridor is picking up in UP with more and more expressways coming up in the state, PM Modi said at the event.
* During the inauguration event, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said that BJP government is committed to connecting eastern and western regions of the state.
* We will begin work on Ganga expressway soon. Work on Gorakhpur and Ballia link expressways will also be completed in the next few years, said Yogi at the event, highlighting steps taken by the government to improve public transport infrastructure in UP.

* UP will play a strong part in PM Modi's vision of turning India into the largest economy in the world: Yogi
UP's new network of expressways
Besides Purvanchal, at least three more expressways, besides the proposed defence corridor and already operational Agra-Lucknow and Yamuna expressways, are in various stages of completion in UP.
Since 2016, various expressway projects have been launched in the state, including Purvanchal Expressway, Gorakhpur Link Expressway, Ganga Expressway and Bundelkhand Expressway.

The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority has been given the responsibility of completing these projects.
Once ready, they will provide access to all corners of UP from the national capital and allow commuters to zoom through the state. Besides faster commuting, the expressways will create job opportunities and ensure of growth of economic clusters around them.

Watch Road to development: What the inauguration of Purvanchal Expressway means for East UP, Bihar