Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday unveiled a 25-feet bronze statue of former PM and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 95th birth anniversary. The statue is located in Lucknow's iconic Lok Bhawan.

He was accompanied by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh,UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and UP Governor Anandiben Patel.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister launched the Atal Bhujal Yojna, a scheme that aims to better management of groundwater. The scheme has been named after late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Speaking on the inauguration of the scheme, PM Modi outlined the importance of water conservation and said that new India will have to work together to tackle water issues.

"New India should come to work together to deal with every situation of the water crisis. On the one hand, there is Jal Jeevan Mission, which will ensure that piped potable water will reach every house hold while on the other side is the Atal Jal Yojana, which will put prime focus on places where the groundwater level is low," Modi said.

He further added that during the tenure of the previous NDA government, water issues were a priority for Vajpayee. Whether it is the AtalJal Yojana or the guidelines related to the Jal Jeevan Mission, these are major steps in proving the resolve to ensure that water reaches to every household inthe country by 2024," the Prime Minister said.

The Atal Bhujal Yojana aims at better management of ground water through community participation in seven states comprising Gujarat,Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.Implementation of the scheme is expected to benefit around 8,350 grampanchayats in 78 districts in these states.

The prime minister also said that the Rohtang Tunnel, thatconnects Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, and connectingManali with Leh, will now be known as Atal Tunnel, in honour of the late BJPstalwart. The decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Passwas taken on June 3, 2000 by the government led by Vajpayee.

The 8.8-kilometre-long tunnel is the world's longest tunnelabove an altitude of 3,000 metres. The tunnel will reduce the distance betweenManali and Leh by 46 kilometres and save crores of rupees in transport costs,the government said.