lucknow: Power substation and transmission centre projects worth Rs 2,723.20 crore were either inaugurated, or foundation stone was laid for them, on the occasion of Electricity Festival and Energy Day held as part of the Ujjwal Bharat, Ujjwal Bhavishya, Power @ 2047 mission in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday.
Congratulating people on the occasion, Yogi said that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh has made a big leap in power production and supply. He said that 1.21 lakh villages, which remained without electricity since independence, have been electrified in the last five years while 1.43 crore free electricity connections have also been given to the needy under Saubhagya Yojana in the last five years.
Yogi said that during previous governments there were four "VIP districts" in UP that received power while the rest 71 districts were denied electricity and the people there were left to struggle with darkness. "But, today there are no VIP districts as every district is a VIP district. In the last five years people have been provided electricity without any discrimination. This is what we call democracy," he said. According to CM Yogi, power supply is currently available for 23 to 24 hours in district headquarters, for 20-22 hours in tehsil headquarters and for 16 to 18 hours in villages.