In carpet country Bhadohi and Mirzapur, transport is a pretty obvious hot topic. With more than one million artisans plying the trade, the Ganga Expressway could be a means to more markets and the possibility of more visits by townspeople to source carpets from here. So while opposition parties have closed ranks to obstruct the project, the carpet weavers are looking the other way. The opposition parties claim that they will make displacement of farmers and acquisition of farm land a more potent issue than at Nandigram. Adya Prasad Tiwari, the pradhan of Rampur Amlan, in Bhadoi, despite his Samajwadi Party leanings is clear the project would benefit them. ?If it cuts through our homes and fields, some people will be adversely affected. But then it will bring with it work for us and also open opportunities to reach our carpets to bigger, international markets at lesser cost.?
It will not be an exaggeration to say that every household in the district has a loom, with thread of all hues hanging on clothesline to be dried before they are used to weave intricate heart-catching designs.
Residents here talk about how the project, once it gets the go ahead, can usher in development in the area. ?Local hands would be roped in for the construction of the Expressway. In fact, we have heard that the highway will be an elevated one. I am sure they would need our mitti to build them. We will get a premium on that too,? says an ebullient Tiwari.
A similar thread binds the pilgrim roads to Varanasi. For all those teeming pilgrims, be it Hindus or Buddhists, the 1,047 kilometers project, which will cross all these districts, is a boon. At present, may of the people undertake incredible journeys and endure resultant miseries to heed to their inner voice. But once the expressway is complete, not only will the journey be much more smooth and comfortable but also save time.
According to Shivnath Tiwari, who runs a travel agency in Varanasi, ?Of the roughly 4.5 million tourists who visit India every year, a large majority are international Buddhist tourists who follow in the footsteps of the Buddha. Once the Expressway is complete, the expected tourist traffic for these sites is set to grow five times of the present figures.?