Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 23 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday inaugurated and laid foundation stone of worth Rs 253 crore in Gorakhpur.

The Chief Minister also inaugurated the state's first Urban Flood Management Cell and Early Warning System.

Addressing the public, the Uttar Pradesh CM noted Gorakhpur's impressive performance in the Swachh Survekshan awards.

'Earlier, we gave a target to Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation during the Shivratri of Shravan month. The target for Gorakhpur was to come in the top ten in its category of the Swachhata Survey in India. I appreciate the whole team of the Municipal Corporation, which has sanitation workers, councillors, and cleanliness committees,' CM Yogi said.

GVMC Visakhapatnam, Jabalpur, and Gorakhpur were declared Best SaifaiMitra Surakshit Shehar for their outstanding commitment to the safety and dignity of sanitation workers in the Swachh Survekshan award ceremony.

Earlier in the day, CM Yogi Adityanath performed Rudrabhishek at the ancient Mansarovar Temple in Andhiyari Bagh, invoking blessings from Lord Shiva for the happiness and prosperity of the state, according to an official statement.

At the revered temple, CM Yogi performed Rudrabhishek with water, cow milk, and sugarcane juice after offering sacred items such as Bilva Patra, lotus flowers, Durva grass, and various other traditional offerings to Mahadev. The ritual was conducted by the learned priests of the Gorakhnath Temple, who chanted the Mahamantras from the Rudrashtadhyayi of the Shukla Yajurveda Samhita.

Following the Rudrabhishek, the Chief Minister performed a havan and aarti, accompanied by the resonant chanting of Vedic mantras. He prayed to Mahadev for a life of good health, happiness, prosperity, and peace for the people of the state.

Present on the occasion were the head priest of Gorakhnath Temple, Yogi Kamalnath; MP Ravi Kishan Shukla; Mayor Manglesh Shrivastava; MLA Vipin Singh; MLC Dharmendra Singh; and other dignitaries, the statement said. (ANI)