Jinx or no jinx, Noida readies for CM visit

Preparations are on full swing in Noida for the proposed visit of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in the first week of December. Akhilesh hasn’t visited Noida even once after taking over the reins of the Uttar Pradesh government on March 15, 2012.

Preparations are on full swing in Noida for the proposed visit of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in the first week of December. Akhilesh hasn’t visited Noida even once after taking over the reins of the Uttar Pradesh government on March 15, 2012.

Akhilesh Yadav started his Samajwadi Vikas Rath Yatra on Nov 3. It is expected to reach Noida in the first week of December (HT Photo)

But with just six months left in office, Akhilesh is ready to try and break the Noida jinx.

The Noida jinx has in the past caught up with several chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, including Veer Bahadur Singh, Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Kalyan Singh and Mayawati, who lost their chairs soon after visiting the city.

The chief minister had started Samajwadi Vikas Rath Yatra on November 3 from Lucknow with an aim to brand his government as ‘pro development’.

However, after the demonetisation of ₹1,000 and ₹500 currency notes on November 8, the party rescheduled his second leg of the yatra in Bundelkhand region.The yatra is expected to reach Noida next month, officials said.

“We do not know the exact dates of the CM’s visit. But we have started our preparations. Work on important projects such as the construction of a cricket stadium in Noida stadium, girls’ college in Hoshiyarpur and NH-24 underpass, among others, is already completed. We are working the route that the chief minister is expected to take,” said Pramod Kumar Aggarwal, chief executive officer, Noida authority.

Akhilesh is expected to inaugurate eight projects, which were started on April 2, 2013. These projects include elevated road above Master Plan-II road, NH-24 underpass, underground parking at Dalit Prerna Sthal, cricket stadium and the girls’ college.

Akhilesh had repeatedly instructed authority officials to complete these projects before the 2017 assembly elections because he wanted to brand his governance as pro development, officials said.

Successive chief secretaries and chairman of Noida authority have continuously reviewed the progress of these projects to ensure that they are completed on time.

The underpass at Model Town on NH-24 and the elevated road are aimed at decongesting the city’s busy roads. Commuters have been facing snarls due to the construction of the underpasses and elevated road. Visitors to the Noida stadium were also troubled due to construction of a cricket stadium.

“We have completed half the work on the 4.8-km elevated road and the remaining will be completed soon. All eight projects have been completed on time,” an official of the Noida authority said.