UP polls: Akhilesh Yadav promises farmers to set up mandis near Purvanchal Expressway if SP comes to power in 2022

"With this Expressway (Purvanchal Expressway), poor areas of Purvanchal will be connected to the mainstream. It is an expressway of happiness that connects cities and villages. The economy of cities and villages will improve with it," said Akhilesh Yadav

"Through this expressway, work to strengthen the economy of rural areas will be done. Mandis were supposed to come up near this but they did not. After SP comes to power, work will be done to set up mandis for farmers," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Purvanchal Expressway at Karwal Kheri in Sultanpur district on Tuesday.

The 341 kilometre-long Purvanchal Expressway starts from village Chaudsarai, district Lucknow located on Lucknow-Sultanpur road (NH-731) and ends at village Hydaria located on National Highway number 31, 18 kilometres east of the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border.

The key feature of the Expressway is the 3.2 km long airstrip to enable landing and take-off of Indian Air Force fighter planes in case of emergency.

The six-lane expressway can be expanded to eight lanes in the future. Constructed at an estimated cost of about Rs 22,500 crore, the Purvanchal Expressway is set to give a boost to the economic development of the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh especially the districts of Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur.

This development comes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled to be held next year.