Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurates the first phase of the Gordhoiya Drain Project and lays the foundation stone for the second phase
Also lays the foundation stone for Gorakhpur Sewerage Scheme Zone A-3 and road construction along the Gordhoiya Drain
CM says - Just as a dog’s tail can never be straightened, SP members can never mend their ways
Gorakhpur, November 2026 Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presented Gorakhpur with development projects worth Rs 880 crore aimed at improving urban livability and targeted the SP government prior to 2017 for obstructing development and patronising mafia culture. In strong terms, he said, “The Samajwadi Party is a mafia-oriented party. Just as a dog’s tail can never be straightened, members of the Samajwadi Party can never mend their ways. Whenever they got an opportunity, forcibly occupying land was their inherent tendency.”
CM Yogi was addressing a public meeting on Sunday evening after inaugurating the first phase of the Gordhoiya Drain Project, completed at a cost of Rs 495.24 crore, and laying the foundation stone for its second phase, a project costing Rs 92.72 crore. On this occasion, he also laid the foundation stone for the Gorakhpur Sewerage Scheme Zone A-3, costing Rs 721.40 crore, and a road to be constructed along the Gordhoiya Drain at a cost of Rs 65.93 crore. During the occasion, referring to certain incidents from the SP regime, the Chief Minister stated, “There used to be two havelis belonging to a prominent family of Gorakhpur on Jail Road. During the SP government, an attempt was once made to forcibly occupy them. At that time, in protest, the wealthy family demolished both its havelis overnight to save the property from the SP’s mafia.”
Narrating another incident, the Chief Minister said, “Similarly, when a mafia member attempted to encroach a prominent family’s haveli in Aryanagar, I personally visited the spot as an MP. I told the public there to catch these goons and beat them up.”
CM Yogi, while discussing the unprecedented transformation in law and order after 2017, informed, “Today no one can dare to occupy the property of any poor person, trader or respectable citizen. Anyone contemplating such an act will think ten times before doing so. They know what consequences they will face the very next moment if they attempt to grab someone’s property. This was not the situation before 2017. There was an atmosphere of insecurity; daughters could not go to school, and traders were unable to conduct business in a secure environment. There was no sense of security anywhere, and in the absence of security, no one was willing to invest. However, today, no one in Gorakhpur can dare to occupy the land or house of any poor person, trader or prominent individual. No one can play with the life of any young person.”
He said that today no one can dare to harass a girl walking on the road. If anyone does so, they will have to choose between going to jail and going to hell. He said that there could be no situation more hellish for a society than one in which it cannot ensure the safety of its daughters and sisters. That is why the government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards crime.
Referring to other problems under the previous government, the Chief Minister said, “There were no proper means of transportation, and the roads in the city had been reduced to potholes. Whenever the monsoon arrived, severe waterlogging occurred across Gorakhpur. In contrast, there is no waterlogging in Gorakhpur today. Just 10 years ago, travelling through Gorakhpur meant moving at a snail’s pace, crawling along. There were traffic jams, filth, severe waterlogging during the monsoon, and the additional menace of mafias and mosquitoes.”
He said, “With the completion of the first phase of the Gordhoiya Drain Project, the first project to eliminate mosquitoes and mafias from Gorakhpur had also been completed. When a city becomes free from mosquitoes and mafias, development progresses rapidly there. The same rapid pace of development is now visible in Gorakhpur.”
He further informed, “Before 2017, due to a government with a BIMARU mindset, thousands of children fell ill prematurely and lost their lives because of encephalitis, malaria, dengue and various other water-borne diseases caused by filth, waterlogging and contaminated drinking water. The solution devised to address these problems is now evident before everyone through the systematic rejuvenation of the Gordhoiya Drain. Illegal encroachments were removed as part of this project, but the houses that had already been constructed were not damaged.”
Discussing Gorakhpur’s development in the fields of education, healthcare, industry and employment, the Chief Minister said, “Earlier, young people from the city used to leave Gorakhpur in search of jobs and employment. Today, however, people from outside are also coming to Gorakhpur for jobs and employment. New industries are being established here. Over the past 10 years, 50,000 young people have received jobs and employment here.”
He said that this has become possible because Gorakhpur has security, cleanliness and development. Through various schemes, we have given Gorakhpur a new identity. Today, we can say that just as there is a New Uttar Pradesh of a New India, a New Gorakhpur of the New Uttar Pradesh is also now ready.
The Chief Minister stated, “The Gordhoiya Drain Project has resolved the drainage problem in 17 wards of Gorakhpur. Under the first phase, this RCC drain, approximately 7 kilometres and 750 metres long, has been constructed under a project costing around Rs 500 crore. Along with this, work on a 17.5-kilometre intercepting trunk sewer line, a 38 MLD sewage treatment plant, a 61 MLD main pumping station and 14 bridges/culverts has been completed. Under the second phase, at a cost of around Rs 794 crore, 342 kilometres of sewer lines, approximately 45,000 sewer connections and two associated intermediate pumping stations, along with two pumping stations of 27 MLD and 37.5 MLD capacity, will be constructed in the wards connected to the drain’s catchment area. This is set to benefit a population of 2.5 to 3 lakh.”
He said that just before Diwali, all these wards connected with Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation, including Railway Colony Bichhiya, Shahpur, Semra, Basharatpur, Rapti Nagar and Ram Janki Nagar, among others, are going to receive significant relief.
The CM stated, “Roads will also be constructed on both sides of the Gordhoiya Drain to facilitate movement. Access to the adjoining localities will become easier. Plantation will be undertaken on both sides, there will be no problems, and development will move forward rapidly.”
CM Yogi Adityanath informed that funds have also been sanctioned for constructing a permanent RCC drain to replace the drain in Gorakhpur that flows from Dharmshala Bazar through Sumer Sagar and onwards.
He said that until proper arrangements for drainage are made, the problem of waterlogging will not be resolved. And if the problem of waterlogging is not resolved, mosquitoes and mafias will emerge.
The Chief Minister called upon all citizens to share the joys of the Diwali festival with the poor. He said that the true joy of festivals and celebrations lies in visiting even the huts of poor people, lighting a lamp there and giving them gifts as well. This will also bring satisfaction from within.
The Chief Minister informed that he personally visits the Vantangiya village on the day of Diwali. He visits the Vantangiya village and distributes Diwali sweets there. He added that people should visit temples or martyrs’ memorials in their localities and certainly light a lamp in the names of great personalities and revolutionaries.
Addressing the inauguration and foundation stone-laying ceremony, MP Ravi Kishan Shukla said, “Under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gorakhpur is setting an example of development today. In contrast, before 2017, under the SP government, the same city was struggling with serious challenges relating to development and law and order.”
The MP added that before Diwali, CM Yogi had once again presented Gorakhpur with a historic gift in the form of development projects worth crores of rupees. In honour of the Chief Minister, he also recited a couplet: ‘Those who smile while looking storms in the eye are the ones who find a place in the pages of history, and Yogi Adityanath can be counted among them.’
On this occasion, prominent attendees included Dr. Sanjay Nishad, Minister for Fisheries in the State Government; Mayor Dr. Manglesh Srivastava; MLC and BJP Regional Vice-President Dr. Dharmendra Singh; MLAs Shriram Chauhan, Fateh Bahadur Singh, Rajesh Tripathi, Vipin Singh, Mahendrapal Singh, Pradeep Shukla and Sarvan Nishad; State Women’s Commission Vice-Chairperson Charu Chaudhary; BJP Regional President Vinod Rai; Metropolitan President Ramesh Pratap Gupta; District President Janardan Tiwari; Regional Vice-President Rajesh Gupta; and Mahant Ravindradas of Kalibari, among others.
*CM inspects Gordhoiya Drain from Bichhiya Bridge*
Before arriving on the stage for the inauguration and foundation stone-laying ceremony, the Chief Minister inspected the rejuvenation work of the Gordhoiya Drain from Bichhiya Bridge. On this occasion, he also walked along the 100-metre-long road constructed as a sample and reviewed it.
