US varsity invite for UP minister

Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Minister Shiv Pal Singh Yadav has been invited by the US' John Hopkins University to share his experiences on flood control and expediting a water sector restructuring project in his state, an official said Thursday.

The invitation comes weeks after Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav cancelled his lecture at the Harvard Business School to protest the "extended frisking" of Urban Development Minister Azam Khan at a Boston airport.

Officials said the invite from John Hopkins University, Baltimore, came to the minister, an uncle of Akhilesh Yadav, for the water sector restructuring project in Uttar Pradesh that has been lauded by the World Bank too.

In the second phase of the project, the lower Ganga canal would be regenerated and three dams would be built in the Bundelkhand area, an official said.

There is no word on whether Shiv Pal Singh Yadav will go ahead with the US visit, particularly after what happened to Azam Khan.

Sources said the minister was "very excited" but political considerations needed to be weighed.