Overview
- Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister, who visited Saharanpur on Thursday, announced 325 development works valued at Rs 2,131 crore.
- The package covers the whole district with 184 completed projects worth Rs 500 crore and foundation stones for 141 more worth Rs 1,631 crore across Saharanpur city and rural areas, Behat, Rampur Maniharan, Nakur, Gangoh and Deoband.
- He said insulting Vande Mataram is now a cognisable offence in the state and warned that insults to national symbols will bring punishment.
- He pointed to tighter security in Deoband, citing an Anti-Terrorist Squad centre and round the clock commando surveillance with promises of strict action against alleged anti-national activity.
- He cast the works as a shift from earlier riots and curfews to growth and connectivity, citing the Delhi–Dehradun and Ganga expressways, a planned airport, Maa Shakambhari Dham upgrades and an upcoming logistics hub.