Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday promised to make India the third-largest economy in the world in his third innings.

Gifting projects worth more than Rs 19,000 crore to Varanasi and Purvanchal at a programme held at Barki Gram Sabha of Sewapuri block, the prime minister said he felt happiest when the world sang praises of Kashi, adding “when Kashi develops, UP develops and when UP develops, the country develops.”

The projects that were inaugurated or whose foundation stones were laid covered different areas, namely drinking water supply, critical care unit in trauma centre, roads, electricity, Ganga ghat, railways, airport and solar energy.

Modi flagged off four trains, including the second Vande Bharat train from Varanasi to New Delhi on the occasion.

It is noteworthy that just before the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Modi had said for him, farmers, women, youth and poor were the only castes and only with 100 per cent of these four castes, India would become a developed nation.

During his speech, the prime minister also communicated with the audience in Bhojpuri several times. He described Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra as a mobile university for all those working in public life.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his speech in the Bhojpuri language saying the people of Kashi broke all previous records in terms of footfall during this year’s Dev Diwali though he was not present during the festival.

He said no matter how much service he could render on Mahadev, he always felt that he could have done more.

The prime minister emphasised that today the entire country, including Kashi, is committed to building a developed India. “The Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra has reached thousands of villages and cities. The vehicle running in this yatra is being described by the countrymen as Modi’s guaranteed vehicle. Now, it is our endeavour that no poor and eligible person is deprived of the benefits of the government’s welfare schemes,” he remarked.

He added: “Earlier, the poor used to make rounds of the government, now the government itself is reaching out to the poor. The biggest thing that people have got from this is confidence. Those who have benefited from the schemes have the confidence that their lives will get better. Those who have not got the benefits of the schemes so far have the confidence that one day they will get it. The nation’s belief that India will become a developed nation by 2047 has also been strengthened.”

The prime minister said he had also benefited a lot from participating in the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. “Meeting confident children and women exposes you to the power that lies within the society. I have had the opportunity to see, understand and know many powerful mothers, children and youth. I have learnt so much during this two-day stay in Kashi that I consider myself to be blessed”, he asserted.

He said along with making living in Kashi easy, the government is working equally hard to improve the connectivity of the city with other places and increase the income of its residents as tourism in Kashi continues to expand, creating thousands of new employment opportunities.

The prime minister asked the public in Bhojpuri, “Tell me once, whether the number of tourists has increased from Godaulia to Lanka.”

He also gave information about the Unified Tourist Pass System under the Smart City project and the tourist website of Varanasi, which was launched today. He said in Bhojpuri itself, “People coming to Kashi from outside won’t know the joy of having malai (cream) and chuda-matar (beaten rice with peas) in winter. The website will have information about all these as well as Godaulia’s chaat, and Ramnagar’s Lassi.”

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The prime minister also mentioned the dedicated freight corridor between Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction and New Bhaupur Junction, the 800 MW solar power park to be set up in Chitrakoot and other projects that will be inaugurated or, whose foundation stone will be laid.

On the importance of drone technology in agriculture, he said that drones are going to shape the future of India’s agricultural system. “The government has launched NaMo Drone Didi. Under this campaign, women of self-help groups are being given training to operate drones< Modi informed. While mentioning Banas Dairy Plant, he said that its construction is going on at a fast pace in Varanasi and will be completed in the next one to two months. Banas Dairy is investing Rs 500 crore in Kashi.

The prime minister said the entire area of Purvanchal has been neglected for decades, but with the blessings of Mahadev, Modi is engaged in your service. Behind Modi’s guarantee is the strength of my relatives of Kashi. You always stand with me and strengthen my resolutions.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, state government ministers Jaiveer Singh, Anil Rajbhar, Ravindra Jaiswal, Dayashankar Mishra Dayalu and other dignitaries and a large number of people of Kashi were present on the occasion.