Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kanpur, and Lucknow among top 100 fastest emerging cities

LUCKNOW: Four UP cities — Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kanpur and Lucknow — have emerged as frontrunners among India’s top 100 fastest-emerging cities.
This development, highlighted in a recent report by Colliers India, underscores the strides made in sectors such as residential, warehousing, data centres, retail and hospitality, marking a departure from the state’s past reputation under the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) regimes, which were marred by chaos and corruption, officials said.
The transformation of these cities over the past seven years can be attributed to enhanced connectivity, world-class infrastructure, and improved security measures, drastically altering the investment landscape in UP, officials said.
The state, once avoided by investors, is now a beacon of potential, thanks in part to the efforts of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his govt’s commitment to development, officials said.
Ayodhya has witnessed a significant transformation with around 200 projects worth approximately Rs 32,000 crore underway, largely propelled by the construction of the Ram temple and the Yogi govt’s initiatives, officials said.
Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has seen its attraction enhanced through projects like the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the Ganga aarti and the Dev Deepawali festivals, positioning it as a key destination on the global tourism map, officials said.
Kanpur’s resurgence as a major industrial city has been facilitated by pollution control measures, the introduction of metro services and improvements in connectivity through the greenfield expressway and the widening of the GT road, redefining travel within the state and to Delhi, officials said.
Lucknow has continued to uphold its heritage, while embracing modernity, as evidenced by the Global Investors Summit, officials said.
The collective efforts in transforming these cities have not only elevated UP’s status on the national stage but have also played a pivotal role in increasing tourist numbers, with the state’s tourism department reporting a record 480 million visitors in 2023, officials said. The department aims to reach 800 million tourists by 2028, with revenue from this sector expected to reach Rs 70,000 crore, up from Rs 11,000 crore in 2016-2017, officials said.