Uttar Pradesh

• 13 Feb 2025

New Expressways Approved

Why in News? 

The Uttar Pradesh government has approved the construction of 7 new expressways to facilitate road transport in the state .  

Key Points 

• About the Expressway: 
  • The Chief Minister has announced to invest Rs 50 thousand crores on this project.  
  • These 7 expressways will connect 56 districts of Uttar Pradesh between Lucknow and Delhi.  
  • The total length of these seven expressways will be 866 km which will be completed in the coming 2-3 years. 
  • This step will play an important role in the Uttar Pradesh government's mission to make the state's economy one trillion dollars. 
• Proposed 7 expressways: 
  • Chitrakoot Link Expressway: This 120 km long expressway will connect various districts of Bundelkhand. 
  • Jhansi Link Expressway:  Its length will be 100 km and through this the major districts of Bundelkhand will get direct connectivity with the expressway. 
  • Jewar Link Expressway: This expressway will connect Jewar Airport to Yamuna Expressway so that people can directly connect to the airport. 
  • Vindhya Expressway: Its length is 320 km and this expressway will provide better transport facilities to the backward districts of Uttar Pradesh.  
    • In this, districts like Mirzapur, Banaras, Jaunpur will be connected to Prayagraj. 
  • Vindhya Purvanchal Link Expressway: Its length is 100 km and will be constructed between Mirzapur to Ghazipur to connect Vindhyachal region with Purvanchal. 
  • Lucknow Link Expressway: This 50 km long expressway will connect Purvanchal and Agra Expressway. 
  • Agra-Lucknow Ganga Expressway Link Road: The length of this link expressway will be 90 km, which will be built to connect Ganga Expressway between Prayagraj and Meerut to Lucknow. 

 Expressway network in Uttar Pradesh:  

• Uttar Pradesh has the largest expressway network in the country. The following are the major expressways of Uttar Pradesh- 
  • Yamuna Expressway: Uttar Pradesh's first expressway 
  • Ganga Expressway:  The longest expressway of Uttar Pradesh  
  • Agra-Lucknow Expressway: Greenfield Expressway of Uttar Pradesh  
  • Delhi-Meerut Expressway  
  • Purvanchal Expressway  
  • Bundelkhand Expressway  
  • Gorakhpur Link Expressway   
  • Lucknow Kanpur Expressway 

Guru Ravidas Jayanti

Why in News? 

Guru Ravidas Jayanti was celebrated in Uttar Pradesh on 12 February 2025. The Chief Minister extended his heartfelt greetings and best wishes to the people of the state. 

Key Points 

• About Guru Ravidas: 
  • Ravidas Jayanti is celebrated on the full moon day of Magh month according to the Hindu lunar calendar . 
  • Guru Ravidas or Raidas was a 14th-century saint and reformer of the Bhakti movement in North India. 
  • He is believed to have been born in a cobbler family in Varanasi.  
  • He dedicated his entire life towards the abolition of the caste system and openly despised the concept of Brahminical society. 
  • His devotional songs had an immediate impact on the Bhakti movement and about 41 of his poems were included in the Sikh religious text 'Guru Granth Sahib'. 

 

•  Saint Raidas was a disciple of Swami Ramanand . While Mirabai is said to be the disciple of  Saint Raidas . 
• He founded the Radasiya or Ravidasiya sect.