Raipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Raipur on Friday to inaugurate and lay foundation stone for 10 projects worth Rs 7,600 crore as part of his election campaign. This apart, he will address a public meeting on the occasion.
PM Modi is expected to reach here at 10:45 am and straightaway leave for the science college ground in helicopter from the airport. Ahead of this, the venue has been wrapped with tight security and 25 LED screens have been put up for people. Around 2000 police personnel along with SPG team have been deployed in the city with nearly 1600 policemen being posted at the venue and another 200 policemen at the helipad. Twelve entry gates have been set up at the hall.
On the occasion, PM Modi will dedicate five National Highway projects including 33-km 4-lane road connecting Raipur to Kodebod on Jabalpur-Jagdalpur National Highway and 4-lane Bilaspur-Pathratali road between Bilaspur and Ambikapur of NH-130 to improve connectivity with Uttar Pradesh and boost movement of coal.
Foundation stones will be laid for three National Highway projects for the 6-lane Greenfield Raipur-Visakhapatnam corridor on NH-130. These are 6-lane 43 km Jhanki-Sargi section, 6-lane 57 km Sargi-Basanwahi section and 6-lane 25 km Basanwahi-Marangpuri section.
A major part of the proposed stretches will be a 2.8-km tunnel with 27 animal passes and 17 monkey canopies to ensure unhindered movement of wildlife in the area of Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary. There are 51 projects where special structures have been set up to provide unrestricted wildlife movement
Also, PM Modi will inaugurate the doubling of Raipur-Khariar Road Rail Line of 103 km, which has been completed at a cost of Rs 750 to provide transportation of coal, steel, fertilisers and other commodities from the ports. A new 17-km railway line between Keoti-Antagarh will be inaugurated that has been built at a cost of Rs 290 crore to link the remote areas of the southern parts of the state and provide connectivity between Bhilai Steel Plant and Iron Ore Mines of Dalli Rajhara and Rowghat areas.
Next a bottling plant of the Indian Oil Corporation with 60,000 metric ton per annum capacity will be inaugurated at Korba. The plant has been set up at a cost of Rs 130 crore. The process of distributing cards to 75 lakh beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat scheme will also be start by the prime minister.
Responding to the prime minister's visit, deputy chief minister TS Singhdeo said that he would be coming as a guest before the elections. Singhdeo alleged that PM Modi did not give any time to the state in the last four and a half years and now is coming here only because of the elections. "The prime minister's visit can only raise curiosity and excitement but will not affect in any manner. Had he worked for the state then surely his visit would have mattered. He is coming as a guest and will leave," he said.
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Chhattisgarh elections are scheduled to be held sometime around November this year. Apart from Chhattisgarh, PM Modi will visit Telangana today. The next day, he will visit Rajasthan.
