Lucknow, Aug 25 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday launched 42 new electric buses for Lucknow and Kanpur.

He also said a helicopter service will soon be launched from Lucknow to Naimisharanya, a pilgrim centre in Sitapur district.

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"In the first phase, a helicopter facility from Lucknow to Naimisharanya will be provided. Also, some of the buses launched today will be run to the pilgrim centre under an alternative arrangement," he said.

The chief minister said the department of tourism and culture is working on preserving the heritage of Naimisharanya, while the urban development department

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is gearing up to launch the electric bus service from Lucknow.

"It may take some time because charging stations and other facilities will have to be built there. Till then, we are looking at some alternative arrangement," he said.

Naimisharanya, also called Naimisaranyam, Neemsar and Nimkhar, is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

Speaking about the development works undertaken by his government, Adityanath said 10 of the 100 cities that were being developed under the Smart Cities Mission were located in Uttar Pradesh, and of the top 10 cities in the country, two were in the state - Agra and Varanasi.

The chief minister also claimed that his government has achieved progress in running Metro rail services in the last five years.

He said electric bus service will form the basis of the Metro. "This will help in expanding the Metro service and provide pollution-free public transport, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)