21 June, 2025:
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday (June 20, 2025) inaugurated the Gorakhpur Link Expressway built at a cost of over ₹7,000 crore. Calling the inauguration in Azamgarh a game changer, Mr. Adityanath stressed that U.P. is no longer a ‘bimaru’ State but is emerging as an ‘Expressway State’.
The expressway, which is 91.35 kilometres long, connects Gorakhpur with Azamgarh and is expected to make travel faster, smoother, and more efficient in the region.
The inauguration was held in two phases at both ends of the expressway. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath first flagged off the Gorakhpur Link Expressway at Salarpur in Azamgarh, its starting point. Following the ceremony, he travelled along the newly built road to the Bhagwanpur toll plaza near Gorakhpur, where he formally concluded the event.
Speaking at the event on, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that there was a time when people were hesitant to even mention Azamgarh or be associated with it. However, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the region has transformed into a symbol of “indomitable courage,” he asserted.
Taking a dig at the Opposition, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath alleged that earlier non-BJP governments aligned themselves with the D-company and Dawood gang instead of focusing on development. He claimed that these regimes compromised security and turned Azamgarh into a hub of terror, but noted that the situation has undergone a drastic transformation now.
“They did not do development, they nurtured Mumbai’s D Company, they nurtured Dawood’s gang with D Company, they did partnerships with them, they used to break the security, whenever there was a terrorist incident, Azamgarh would get a bad name, these youth of mine faced an identity crisis,” he alleged.
“Today if someone breaches the security of the country, the identity of Azamgarh will not be in danger, rather the person creating the crisis will be given a ticket to hell. This is the new India and Prime Minister Modi has also given a clear message to the enemies of the country through Operation Sindoor that if someone instigates terrorism, inspires and encourages terrorism, then (we) will enter and kill them, whether it is a surgical strike, air strike or Operation Sindoor. The brave soldiers of India will enter the enemy’s den, flush them out and finish them off,” Adityanath said.
According to officials, the Gorakhpur Link Expressway is set to significantly boost the local economy by cutting down travel time and enhancing connectivity between eastern Uttar Pradesh districts and the Purvanchal Expressway. The project is also expected to spur industrial growth, attract tourism, and benefit farmers and traders by enabling quicker transportation of goods.
