PM’s address at the dedication of various developmental projects to the Nation in Mahoba, UP
Speaker: Narendra Modi
Date: 19 Nov, 2021

Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Bharat Mata Ki Jai! My greetings to the people of Mahoba, the land where the valor of Alha and Udal and the Chandelas is in every particle! Governor of Uttar Pradesh Smt. Anandiben Patel ji, popular Karmayogi Chief Minister of UP Yogi Adityanath ji, my colleague in the Union Cabinet Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat ji, Ministers in the UP government Dr. Mahendra Singh ji and Shri G.S. Dharmesh ji, my colleagues in Parliament R.K. Singh Patel ji and Shri Pushpendra Singh ji, colleagues in the UP Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, Shri Swatantradev Singh ji and Shri Rakesh Goswami ji respectively, other public representatives and my dear brothers and sisters present here! Visiting the historical land of Mahoba has an altogether different feeling. The country is also celebrating the week-long Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas dedicated to the contribution of tribal friends in the independence of the country and nation building. It is a great privilege for me to be here on this holy land of brave Alha and Udal. Today is also the Prakash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev ji, who awakened a new consciousness in India during the era of servitude. I also extend many wishes on Guru Purab to the people of the country and the world. Today is also the birth anniversary of the brave daughter of India, the pride of Bundelkhand, the brave queen Laxmibai. After this program I will also visit Jhansi where a huge program related to defence is going on. Brothers and sisters, Mahoba is witness to how we have brought the government out of the closed rooms of Delhi to every nook and corner of the country in the last seven years. This land has been witness to the schemes and decisions which have made substantial and meaningful changes in the lives of poor mothers, sisters and daughters of the country. Just a few months back, the second phase of the Ujjwala scheme for the entire country was launched from here. I remember I had promised crores of Muslim sisters of the country from Mahoba a few years ago that I would liberate them from the hassles of Triple Talaq. The promise made in Mahoba has been fulfilled. Brothers and sisters, Today I have come here to hand over a big gift to my dear farmer brothers and sisters of Bundelkhand. Today I have the privilege of inaugurating the Arjun Sahayak Project, Ratauli Dam Project, Bhaoni Dam Project and Majhgaon-Chilli Sprinkler Irrigation Project. These projects built at a cost of more than Rs. 3,000 crores will benefit the people of Mahoba as well as the people of Hamirpur, Banda and Lalitpur districts and lakhs of farmer families. More than four lakh people will also get pure drinking water. The wait for water for generations is going to end today. Friends, I welcome your enthusiasm. Your love means a lot to me. But I request you not to come forward as there is no space and please maintain calm and peace. Friends, Guru Nanak Dev ji has said: पहलां पानी जीओ है, जित हरिया सभ कोय!! That is, water should always be given priority because the entire universe gets life from water. Mahoba and this entire region used to be a perfect model of water conservation and water management hundreds of years ago. The ponds built during the regimes of Bundela, Parihar and Chandela kings are still a great example of water conservation. Sindh, Betwa, Dhasan, Ken and Narmada rivers gave prosperity as well as fame to Bundelkhand. It is the same Chitrakoot and Bundelkhand which provided solace to Lord Rama during his exile and the forest resources also blessed him. But friends, The question is how this area became the hotbed of water challenges and migration over time. Why people in this area started shying away from marriage of their daughters in the region, why daughters here started wishing for marriage in the water abundant areas. The people of Mahoba and Bundelkhand know the answers to these questions very well. Those ruling Delhi and Uttar Pradesh left no stone unturned to devastate the region. It is not hidden from anyone how the forests and resources here were handed over to the mafia. Strangely, some people are creating hue and cry when the mafias are being bulldozed in UP. No matter how much trouble these people create, the development works in Bundelkhand and UP are not going to stop. Friends, The people here can never forget the way these people treated Bundelkhand. There was a lot of talk about installing tube wells and hand pumps, but the earlier governments did not specify how water would come in the absence of ground water. You know it better than me what happened to the ponds whose foundation laying ceremonies were held with fanfare. Those running the earlier governments looted Bundelkhand by pocketing commissions in projects related to dams and ponds and scams in drought relief and benefited their families only. They were little concerned when you were yearning for every drop of water. Brothers and sisters, The Arjun Sahayak Project is one such example of their performance. The project was hanging fire for years and remained unfinished. After 2014, I started asking for status of such pending projects and irrigation schemes in the country. I also discussed several times at many levels with the UP government of that time for the early completion of the Arjun Sahayak Project. But these culprits of Bundelkhand did not show any interest in completing irrigation projects here. Finally, the pace of work on this project gathered momentum after Yogi ji’s government was formed in 2017. And today this project has been dedicated to the people of Bundelkhand. For decades, the people of Bundelkhand have seen corrupt governments. For the first time, the people of Bundelkhand are seeing the government working for their development. My brothers and sisters of Bundelkhand, no one can forget the bitter truth that they never got tired of looting Uttar Pradesh whereas we do not get tired of working. Friends, Entangling farmers in problems has always been the hallmark of some political parties. They do politics over problems and we do politics of solutions. Our government only found the solution to the Ken-Betwa after consulting all the stakeholders. Ken-Betwa link is also going to benefit lakhs of farmers here in future. Yogi ji’s government has launched many water related projects in Bundelkhand during the last four-and-a-half years. Today the launch of the Mashgaon-Chilli sprinkler scheme represents modernization in irrigation. Friends, I come from Gujarat and the ground reality of Gujarat then was not much different from that of Bundelkhand. Therefore, I understand your problems. With the blessings of Mother Narmada, the Sardar Sarovar Dam water is reaching even the desert of Kutch in Gujarat. We are working relentlessly to achieve the same success in Bundelkhand that we got in Gujarat. Brothers and sisters, Kutch in Gujarat also witnessed migrations as in Bundelkhand. While the population in the country increased, it declined in Kutch as people would migrate from there. But when I got an opportunity to serve, Kutch has now become one of those districts that are progressing at a fast pace. My brothers and sisters from many parts of Uttar Pradesh are also trying their luck in Kutch. And I say from my experience in Kutch that we can give that strength and new life to Bundelkhand again. Work is also being done rapidly in Bundelkhand under the Jal Jeevan Mission in order to mitigate the biggest difficulty of the mothers and sisters here. A special campaign is being run to ensure that water reaches every household through pipes in Bundelkhand as well as in Vindhyachal. Brothers and sisters, For decades, the dynastic governments kept most of the villages in UP parched. The karmayogi governments have provided tap water to 30 lakh families in UP within just two years. While the dynastic governments deprived children and daughters of separate toilets in schools, drinking water facilities, the double engine government of karmayogis built separate toilets for daughters in schools and supplied tap water to more than one lakh schools and thousands of Anganwadi centers in UP. When the welfare of the poor is the top priority, then work happens at a fast pace. Brothers and sisters, Our government has taken steps in the interest of farmers at every level from providing seeds to ensuring markets. More than 1650 good quality seeds have been developed in the last seven years. Many of these seeds give high yields while consuming minimum water. The government is focusing on coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds suited to the soil of Bundelkhand. Record procurement of pulses and oilseeds has been done in the last few years. Recently, MSP has been increased to Rs 400 per quintal for several pulses like mustard and lentils. A national mission has been started to make India self-sufficient in edible oil so that 80,000 crore rupees which we spend on imports of edible oil annually should go to the farmers of the country. This will also help the farmers of Bundelkhand a lot. Brothers and sisters, The dynastic governments wanted to keep the farmers only in deprivation. They used to make announcements in the name of farmers, but not even a single pie reached the farmers. Whereas we have transferred Rs 1.62 lakh crore directly to the bank accounts of farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme so far. This entire amount has reached every farmer family. The dynastic governments had even denied the facility of Kisan Credit Cards to small farmers and livestock farmers. Our government has also connected small farmers with the facility of Kisan Credit Cards. Brothers and sisters, The government is committed to make this region self-reliant in employment and to prevent migration from Bundelkhand. The Bundelkhand Expressway and UP Defence Corridor is also a great proof of this. Hundreds of industries will be set up here in the near future and the youth will get employment here. Now the fate of these areas will not be a matter of just one festival. Moreover, this region’s treasure of history, faith, culture and nature is also becoming a huge medium of employment. This is the region of ​​pilgrimages. This region has the blessings of Guru Gorakhnath ji. Be it the Rahila Sagar Sun Temple, Maa Pitambara Shakti Peeth, Chitrakoot temple or Sonagiri pilgrimage, what is not here? Who will not be attracted to Bundeli language, poetry, literature, song-music and Mahoba’s pride – ‘Deshavari Paan’? Many pilgrimage centers are being developed here under the Ramayan Circuit Scheme. Brothers and sisters, The double engine government is trying to make this decade the decade of Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, through many such programs. This double engine government will continue to get the power of your blessings. With this belief, I am going to leave for the program in Jhansi after taking your permission. I am very grateful to you from my heart for blessing us by coming in such a large number. Speak with me: Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Many thanks!