The author, a well-known personality from Kuwait, shares his experience of witnessing the pace of progress of his own state Uttar Pradesh.
The summer of 2022 was different. Different for a good reason. I finally got a chance to go to my hometown after being held captive by the pandemic in Kuwait for almost 3 years. I come from a village named Asara in District Baghpat of western Uttar Pradesh., India. The feeling was different and it can be defined by my journey to Lucknow from my village. It was after years that I got an opportunity to travel from Asara to Lucknow by road (Almost 630 kms). It was the first week of August and the sky was pretty clear and we (My son, my daughter and I along with our driver who was also from my family in the village) were all set for the journey to begin.
We decided to start our journey in the late night (around 10:00 p.m.) assuming we would reach Lucknow by early morning as predicted by our smart phones . The road from my village to Baghpat is newly constructed and it took us only 40 minutes to reach the point where we had to take peripheral road towards Ghaziabad. I must say that we were amazed by the new network of roads. We reached Yamuna Expressway via NOIDA within an hour or so. Travelling at nights leaves you with no scenery to look at so we obviously felt sleepy after a while.
The speed must have been around 100 kms an hour and we were feeling some jerks very often. (The Yamuna Expressway is made of concrete) We stopped in between for 15 minutes for a cup of tea. To see lots of folks after pandemic at 1:00 a.m. going to different places felt different. We enjoyed hot cup of tea, maintained distance and moved on after a short halt.
The journey from thereon on the Agra Lucknow Expressway was enjoyed by playing some old Bollywood songs for some time. The ride was so smooth (No jerks as it were on Yamuna Expressway) that it did not take long for us to fall back asleep again.
It was 5:00 a.m. in the morning when I later opened my eyes to see that we found ourselves in Hazrat Ganj where we had planned to stay. It was hard to imagine that we had actually travelled 630 kms by road in a car in just 7 hours. I was astonished and so were my companions. This was my third trip to Lucknow and this Lucknow was a different and new one for me.
Though there are many I would like to mention here just a few developments to which we were a witness during this visit.
This being my third trip to Lucknow in 10 years I could strongly feel the freshness of change in the air that guided the roads of Lucknow. It would not be wrong to say that Lucknow is definitely marching smartly on the path of progress and it made me feel very proud to be a UPIAN.
THE LULU MALL LUCKNOW
LULU Mall was inaugurated by the honorable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath on 10th July, 2022. Lulu Mall is one of the biggest shopping and leisure destinations in Lucknow. Built with an Investment of Rs. 2,000 crores, it is located at the heart of the city at Amar Shaheed Path, Golf City. Lulu Mall, Lucknow is equipped with a dedicated multi-level parking facility for over 3000 vehicles. spanning across 2.2 million sq. ft. isn’t it incredible?
The opening of this Mall itself speaks about the opportunities of safe investment in Uttar Pradesh. The State government had created an investment-friendly environment and improved law and order to pave way for investments in various sectors. The state government has been committed to providing all assistance to the entrepreneurs. And this has been visible. Here I quote the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath , he said while inaugurating the LULU Mall “I assure all the investors that their investment in U.P. will be secure, they will get all protection under the policy of the state government,” A big assurance indeed. We hope new investors will look towards this state that is moving smartly towards progress.
UTTAR PRADESH POLICE
With an area of appx. 243,286 Sq.Km. and a population of over 20 Crores apporx (census 2011), Uttar Pradesh has the distinction of being the largest single Police force not only in the country but of the entire world.
The Director General of UP Police commands a force of about 2.5 Lacs personnel spread over 75 districts, 33 armed Battalions and other specialised wings/ branches relating to Intelligence, Investigation, Anti-corruption, Technical, Training, Forensic Science etc.
The New Head Quarters is giving a look of a Five Star Hotel and the HQ has all the modern facilities that police personnel need to maintain law and order situation in the state. The State is getting closer to a CRIME FREE STATE where you can move around without any fear of being robbed on the highways. The cities where there used to be murders everyday are on job fearlessly. (I do not want to mention the name of cities here)
THE LUCKNOW IMAMBARAH:
Bara Imambara, also known as Asfi Imambara is an imambara complex in Lucknow, India, built by Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh in 1784. Bara means big. This imambara is the second largest after the Nizamat Imambara.
It was very beautiful and well maintained. The recorded commentary that was being played on microphone to welcome and guide the visitoirs was applaud able. “Muskuraiye aap Lucknow main hain.---SMILE PLEASE YOU ARE IN LUCKNOW’
UTTAR PRADESH LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY:
We visited the UP Legislative Assembly complex (A State of the Art Building) for the first time as we had a meeting in the UP NRI Cell to discuss the issues faced by UP NRIs in Kuwait. The staff of the cell was very friendly and of course the secretary Mr. Arvind Kumar (IAS) of the UPNRI cell listened to us and gave us the assurance of all possible help. It was very heartening to see the friendly atmosphere all around. (Muskuraiye aap Lucknow main hain –the feeling prevailed everywhere.)
RETURN JOURNEY:
It was a very pleasant stay in Lucknow for two nights and three days and we all enjoyed. Though it was a short stay and thirst of visiting some more historical places and new places still left but we had to return.
The return journey was the most pleasant journey by road that we ever had in India and that too in Uttar Pradesh. When we came to Lucknow it was a night journey and we could not see anything around but the return journey we planned during the day time intentionally. We left Lucknow around 2:00 p.m. as soon as we were on Lucknow –Agra Highway we felt we were somewhere in Europe and not in India.
Now my son took the driving seat and he drove very comfortably at 100 kms an hour. Smooth driving at that speed without any jerks showed the quality of the highway. (This was the first highway in India where the warplanesof Indian Air Force landed)The green meadows around gave a very pleasant look. The weather was fantastic for a long drive. After a journey of about 100 kilometers we stopped at the Mid Way restaurant for a cup of coffee. The facilities here were excellent that could match any developed country. I took the steering wheel after the coffee and drove till we reached Yamuna Expressway. Driving for about 230 kilometers on such a wonderful Elevated Highway was most thrilling experience that I ever had. We were driving a bit slow (90 kms an hour) and not at the maximum speed allowed (120 kms) as we wanted to enjoy. The blue sky with white clouds and sun playing hide and seek was the marvelous scene that we had around us and we took tons of pictures. Playing old romantic songs of Mohammad Rafi added to this journey on the way back gave us the most refreshing and calmic break that we all look forward to during the vacations.
First time we saw this different state of Uttar Pradesh. The state is on the right path of progress. We hope the pace of this progress continues and we will see soon that Uttar Pradesh has become UTTAM PRADESH.
 |
The Author, Dr. Anis Ahmad, is the Director of Salmiya Indian Model School, Kuwait. and an active member of the Indian community in Kuwait. Dr Anis hails from a village in District Baghpat of Uttar Pradesh. |