Akhilesh Yadav lays foundation stone of IT City, super-specialty hospital in Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today laid foundation stones of three mega projects in Lucknow, including an IT city and a super-speciality hospital, seeking to boost employment and medical infrastructure in the state capital.

Akhilsh hoped that the upcoming IT City, a IIIT and the Medanta-Avadh super-speciality hospital, would be completed before the next elections.

While the IT city and IIIT would be part of the upcoming city township being developed by the state government on the Sultanpur road, the 1000 bed super speciality hospital, Medanta Avadh would be a private hi-tech hospital in the area.

The state government had signed an MoU with the investment arm of the HCL in June this year for setting up a 100-acre IT city which according to estimates would create job opportunities for 25,000 jobless and indirect jobs for 50000 others.

The IIIT, second in the state, is to be set up under the joint aegis of the Central and the state governments and an industry partner.

"These projects which are going to come up here will also increase the importance of Lucknow as well as Uttar Pradesh besides creating more job opportunities", Yadav said at the foundation laying ceremony in Chak Gajaria area of the state capital.

Stressing that his government had been taking "big and small decisions" for the development of the state, Yadav recalled that his father and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had started the 'Hi-tech City' and now people are talking about 'Smart Cities'. He said that he did not know the difference between the two.

'Beside these projects, metro is also coming to the state capital. Samajwadi Party government is doing things as per the requirement of today but at the same time it has not forgotten its own traditional things. Amul is also setting up its plant nearby and we are also getting cycle tracks made", he said.

Taking a dig at the media, he said that although they (mediapersons) know what all work is being done by the government for the development of the state, they give it a different direction.

"Government would continue to do what it has to do no matter what others say", he said.

Referring to the works being done by his government, he said that laptops were purchased and distributed and no one was able to raise a finger at the government.

"...free water is being provided to farmers, can anyone tell which other state is doing the same, a lot of work has been done in the field of dairy", he said adding that unless the statistics of UP do not improve that of the country would not improve.

Saying that as Uttar Pradesh is a big state having a big political stature, some cases do come forward and questions are asked but people know that what all has been done by the Samajwadi Party government has never been done by any previous governments.

The chief minister while referring to the long association of noted cardiologist Naresh Trehan of Medanta and Shiv Nadar of technology firm HCL with the state, said that both have contributed a lot to society and are now back here to help in the development.

Earlier in his speech, Trehan said that he went to the US for gaining knowledge in order to make available what is best in the world to patients back home at a reasonable cost.

"Although several attempts were made in the past but the dream which I had seen is being realised in Lucknow today ", he said thanking the chief minister and government and assured that effort would also be to help the poor and complete this hospital as soon as possible.