Purvanchal a victim of negative thoughts of some: Adityanath

During the coronavirus pandemic, the dependence on China ended and locally-made earthen lamps were lighted this year. Union minister Shripad Yesso Naik, who was the special guest at the seminar, said Uttar Pradesh, which is the most populous state, is moving on the path of development under the leadership of Chief minister Adityanath..

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said Purvanchal or eastern Uttar Pradesh has been a victim of ''negative thoughts of some people'' and appealed to all to be a part of the development process of the region. ''When some people start criticising, we should understand that we are doing something good. Purvanchal was a victim of negative thoughts of some people and faced poverty and backwardness,'' the chief minister said.

He also suggested that people should keep at bay those who may pose hindrance to development. Adityanath said this during his address on the closing ceremony of three days webinar-cum-seminar 'Sustainable development in Purvanchal: issues, strategies and way forward' through video conference.

The chief minister stressed the need for the Uttar Pradesh Planning Department and the Purvanchal Vikas Board to associate each organization in the direction of sustainable development of the region. He said a sub-committee of ministers will be constituted to make plans based on the conclusion of the seminar and it will submit a report in three months.

The coming time will be a witness to economic development and social upliftment in Purvanchal, the chief minister asserted. He said with concerted efforts in the last three years, the encephalitis epidemic has come under control and the experience also helped in controlling the coronavirus pandemic in the state and ''even the WHO appreciated it''.

In the same way, development work could also be done in east UP, he said, adding ''from 1977 to 2017, more than 50,000 deaths took place due to encephalitis and the disease affected 38 districts''. ''Without allocating any extra budget, our government controlled the disease. Similar efforts could be done for development. If the target is clear, manpower and budget never become a constraint. We need to find ways out of challenges,'' he said.

The chief minister said the problems of the area need to be resolved locally as ''during the first Deepotsav in Ayodhya in 2017, we attained 51,000 earthen lamps within the state. We had become dependent for earthen lamps and statues on China. During the coronavirus pandemic, the dependence on China ended and locally-made earthen lamps were lighted this year.'' Union minister Shripad Yesso Naik, who was the special guest at the seminar, said Uttar Pradesh, which is the most populous state, is ''moving on the path of development under the leadership of Chief minister Adityanath''..