The Uttar Pradesh government has approved a proposal to organise grand roadshows for Maha Kumbh 2025 in major cities across the country and abroad.

Apart from this, approval has been granted for the purchase of 220 vehicles for the event.

The decisions were made during a state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here on Friday.

A grand Mahakumbh is being organised in Prayagraj from 13 January to February 26. The UP government is working in mission mode to make this largest festival of Sanatan Dharma a grand success.

Briefing media persons about the cabinet meeting, State Cabinet Minister AK Sharma said that a grand Mahakumbh is being organised in Prayagraj. He added that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suggested promoting India’s Sanatan culture both within the country and abroad.

Under this, roadshows will be organised under the leadership of ministers in various big cities of the country and also in foreign countries. In India, roadshows will be organised in cities like New Delhi, Mumbai Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Guwahati, Dehradun, Bhopal, Chandigarh, and Patna. Roadshows will be held abroad in Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, Mauritius, as well as other countries.

The state Urban Development Department will also bear the expenses of the roadshow. He told that Rs 20-25 lakh will be spent on roadshows in each city. FICCI and CII will be made partners in the roadshow.

Minister AK Sharma said that the government has decided to purchase 220 vehicles for the Mahakumbh, with a total expenditure of Rs 27.48 crore. The purchase will include 40 Mahindra Bolero Neo, 160 Bolero B6 BSVI, and 20 buses.

Meanwhile, two other important decisions were taken in the cabinet meeting. It was decided to operate 71 newly constructed/under-construction colleges as government colleges, while approval has also been given for the formation of Vivek University in Bijnor district.

These decisions will prove to be a milestone in the direction of providing quality and affordable higher education in the state.

Higher Education Minister Yogendra Upadhyay said that the department currently runs 171 government colleges, of which 71 are newly constructed or under construction. Earlier, these colleges were operated by universities. However, some universities have recently expressed their inability to manage them smoothly. As a result, a proposal was put forward, and it has now been decided that these 71 colleges will be directly managed by the state government.

Until now, staff were hired on a contract basis. However, the government has decided to create 71 principal posts, 1,136 assistant professor positions, 639 class three staff roles, and 710 class four positions, with 16 posts allocated to each college. This will provide employment opportunities while enhancing the quality of education.

In another decision, the state cabinet approved the expansion of the Aqua Line of Metro Rail service between Noida and Greater Noida.

This decision has been taken to ease traffic congestion from Sector 51 Metro Station to Knowledge Park-20 in Greater Noida.

State Finance Minister Suresh Khanna told the media at Lok Bhavan on Friday that to further ease traffic between Noida and Greater Noida, the Cabinet has approved the expansion of the 17.435 km Aqua Line Metro Project from Sector 51 Noida Station to Knowledge Park-20 in Greater Noida. In this project, Rs 394 crore will be spent by the Government of India and Rs 394 crore by the state government. Forty per cent of the amount will be sanctioned by the state government and 60 per cent will be sanctioned by the Greater Noida Authority.