Akhilesh Yadav’s dream project will now be Yogi’s spiritual spot

Lucknow: Former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s controversial dream project, the “Gomti Riverfront”, is set for a makeover.

Even as the riverfront project remains mired in allegations of financial scam and controversies over excess payment and the CBI is already probing the same, chief minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to complete the project.

UP minister for irrigation Dharampal Singh told reporters on Thursday that the “disco culture” of the riverfront project would be replaced with a spiritual culture.

Instead of Bollywood chartbusters, strains from the Ramayana and Gita will be played at the riverfront and the disco lights will also be replaced with more soothing lights.

The riverfront will be flanked with paintings depicting scenes from the Ramayana and Gita. The idea is to develop the project as a religious tourism destination.

“We will be releasing more water in the Gomti to enliven the riverfront project. We will be installing more fountains and give the project a touch of the local folklore. Folk artists and folk songs will also be a part of the riverfront,” he said.

The Gomti riverfront project had been showcased as an example of corruption in the previous SP government by the BJP during the Assembly elections last year.

A day after assuming the chief minister’s office, Mr Yogi went to the riverfront to assess the progress of work and found that though `1,400 crore had already been spent, 40 per cent of the work remained incomplete. An additional `1,500 crore would be needed to complete the project.  It was then that the chief minister recommended a CBI probe into the project.