Declaring that the mafia had no place in Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday that the land reclaimed from its control would be used to build multi-storey homes for the poor, Dalits and marginalised communities.
“Mafia ki jagah mitti me hai (the mafia belongs six feet under). Those who once occupied the land have been reduced to dust. Now, homes for the poor will be built on that land,” Yogi said.
He was addressing a felicitation ceremony for sanitation workers marking the conclusion of a 76-day ‘Ward Outreach Campaign’ for cleanliness led by Varanasi South MLA Dr Neelkanth Tiwari. The CM also honoured 10 sanitation workers at the event.
Yogi said he would travel to Vindhyachal to offer prayers to Maa Vindhyavasini before proceeding to Prayagraj, where land allegedly occupied by the said mafia had been reclaimed. “The land that was once under mafia control has been freed. Now, multi-storey residential buildings for the poor, Dalits and deprived sections will be built there,” he said.
The CM praised the Varanasi South MLA’s campaign as an innovative initiative, suggesting similar efforts across all 403 assembly constituencies in the state could bring significant change.
He said the UP government had decided to take strict action against anyone found deducting sanitation workers’ wages. Yogi urged public representatives to stay connected with the people, address their concerns, and ensure that the benefits of welfare schemes reach the eligible beneficiaries.
Through the Uttar Pradesh Outsource Corporation, a system has been established to ensure that sanitation workers receive a minimum monthly honorarium of ₹16,000, along with access to medical facilities under the Employees’ State Insurance scheme, insurance cover and provident fund benefits, Yogi added.
Referring to the Mahakumbh organised in Prayagraj last year, the CM said sanitation workers had played a crucial role in maintaining cleanliness during the religious gathering, which, he said, attracted around 66 crore devotees.
Describing sanitation workers as the foundation of the cleanliness system, he said their contribution often went unnoticed despite being essential to the success of large public events.
‘Leaders who wake up at noon can’t serve people’
In an apparent attack on the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Yogi said public representatives who remain engrossed in their families and wake up at noon cannot understand people’s problems.
“If the leader who is supposed to provide leadership wakes up at 12 noon and remains engrossed in his family, mistaking his family for society and the state, the consequences are inevitable,” he said.
“Leaders who considered their families to be their entire world can’t bring about change”. He further said elected representatives must remain connected with people.
Without naming anyone, Yogi also slammed elected representatives who, after winning elections, rarely returned to their constituencies. “I repeatedly tell those who remain stationed in Lucknow that once they are elected, they sometimes do not even bother to visit their constituencies again,” the CM said.
‘Kashi has transformed under PM Modi’
Saying that prior to 2014, filth in the lanes of Kashi, traffic congestion on the roads, and power crises were common occurrences, Yogi said the temple town has undergone a complete transformation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing the city as having a new radiance while preserving its spiritual and cultural heritage.
He noted that while the government can undertake development projects, the responsibility for their upkeep lies with a conscious society. Uttar Pradesh minister Dr Dayashankar Mishra ‘Dayalu’, minister of state Hansraj Vishwakarma, Varanasi mayor Ashok Tiwari, MLAs Dr Awadhesh Singh, Saurabh Srivastava, and Tribhuvan Ram were prominent among those present at the event.
