Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “Ayodhya ke Raja Bhagirath” of modern times, who has undertaken the task to make the Ganga River clean. Participating in the Ganga Yatra that began from Ballia on Monday and reached Mirzapur Wednesday, Adityanath said the Yatra was a medium to express gratitude towards our traditions, culture and ancestors. “Once, the King of Ayodhya Bhagirath brought the Ganga from the heavens through Himalaya to Ganga Sagar for his ancestors,” said Yogi, adding, “And today Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in the form of Bhagirath putting all his strength into cleaning of the Ganga.” Referring to Modi’s speech in 2014 before the Lok Sabha elections and how he had mentioned that it was a call from “Ma Ganga” that brought him (Modi) to the region, Adityanath said, “Before the Ganga could have dried up and this land turned into a dessert. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here.” The Chief Minister, who also offered prayers at Vindhyavasini temple, promised to develop the region adding that both Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions were neglected so far but his government was working on rapid development of both regions. Drinking water supply will be provided the parched Bundelkhand region through the 'Har Ghar Nal' scheme, Adityanath said. “Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions were neglected for decades but are now developing rapidly," he said. The chief minister was addressing a public meeting on the third day of the ‘Ganga Yatra’ at the Government Inter College here. The Ganga Yatra was started in two phases on January 27, one from Bijnor was launched by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while another from Ballia was launched on the same day by Governor Anandiben Patel. After crossing through several cities along river Ganga, both the Yatras would end in Kanpur on January 31. Later in the day, Chief Minister also participated in the Ganga Yatra at Prayagraj. During his visit, Adityanath also unveiled a statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the presence of Mirzapur MP Anupriya Patel, Union Minister N S Tomar as well as BJP state president Swatantra Dev Singh.
