Raiganj (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 27 : Keen to make travel easier for rural folk in Uttar Pradesh, the authorities are a executing road development project in Raiganj Village near Uttar Pradesh Gorakhpur District.

Funding from the project is coming from the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (Prime Minister's Village Road Scheme).

The Central Government launched the scheme in 2000-01 with an aim to link every village to the main road.

Chandravati Devi, the head of Raiganj village, said villagers are benefiting from the project.

"After the construction of the roads, the villagers have benefited a lot. Now, villagers can easily go to Gorakhpur, which was earlier, cut off from our village. Besides, students the business community has also benefited from this scheme," Chandravati Devi claimed.

Rajesh Kumar Morya, a resident of the village, also expressed his happiness over the fact that he can now reach his school in time.

The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched to provide connectivity to remote and isolated villages.

The government is keen on setting high and uniform technical and management standards and facilitating policy development and planning at State level in order to ensure sustainable management of the rural roads network.

In the first phase, habitations (hamlets) of population of 1000 (500 in the case of Hill States, tribal and Desert areas) and above will be covered. In the second phase habitations of population of 500 (250 in the case of Hill States ,tribal and Desert areas ) will be covered.

About 3,68,000 kilometer of new road construction and 3,70,000 kilometres of upgradation/renewal is expected to be done at a cost of about 26 billion dollars. (ANI)