Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rs 9600 crore Saryu Nahar National Project at Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, asserting that proper utilisation of the water of the country’s rivers and adequate water reaching the farmers’ fields were among the top priorities of his government.

”The completion of the Saryu Canal National Project is proof that when the thinking is honest, the work is also solid,’ he said addressing via video conference at which UP Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among those present.

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The PM paid homage to India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, saying his demise was a great loss for every Indian, for every patriot. “The whole country has been a witness to the hard work that General Bipin Rawat ji was doing to make the country’s forces self-reliant,” he said.

‘‘Even after suffering the pain, we neither stop our pace nor progress. India will not stop,” he said reaffirming that efforts to make the country’s armed forces self-reliant and strengthening coordination between them would keep moving forward.  Modi said the work of improving the country’s security and strengthening the border infrastructure would continue.

He noted that the doctors were working hard to save the life of Group Captain Varun Singh who is a son of Uttar Pradesh, a resident of Deoria. “I pray to Maa Pateshwari to save his life. The nation is with the family of Varun Singh ji today and with the families of the heroes we have lost,” the PM said. Group Captain was the sole survivor in the helicopter crash in which Gen Rawat, his wife and eleven other military personnel were killed.

The PM said when the work on the Saryu Canal National Project started, its cost was less than Rs 100 crore. Today it has been completed after spending about Rs 10000 crore. The country has already paid 100 times more for the negligence of the previous governments. “If it is government money, why should I care? This thinking had become the biggest obstacle in the balanced and all-round development of the country. This thinking also kept this project hanging”.

He said, ”We have done more work in the Saryu Canal Project than what was done in five decades in less than five years. This is a double engine government. This is the speed of work of the double engine government. Our priority is to finish the project on time.”

He claimed that as opposed to earlier times when mafia used to get protection, today mafia was being cleaned out and the difference was visible. Earlier, strongmen were promoted. Today, the Yogi government was engaged in empowering the poor, downtrodden, backward and tribals.