Modi packed 2-day visit to home state Gujarat this week

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to his home state Gujarat starting Thursday, with several events lined up. He will also participate in Navratri celebrations.

Prime Minister Modi will visit Surat, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad and Ambaji during the two days.

On Thursday morning, he will lay the foundation stone and dedicate projects worth more than Rs 3,400 crore in Surat. These include water supply and drainage projects, DREAM City, Biodiversity Park and other development projects such as public infrastructure, heritage restoration, city bus/BRTS infrastructure, and electric vehicle infrastructure as well as joint projects by the central and state government.

Phase-I of road infrastructure and the main entrance of Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City will also be inaugurated.

The DREAM City project has been launched with the vision to meet the growing demand for commercial and residential space for the rapidly growing diamond trading sector in Surat. The prime minister will also lay the foundation stone for Phase II of the project.

Prime Minister Modi will also lay the foundation stone of a biodiversity park, being built over 87 hectares, besides inaugurating the Khoj Museum at Science Centre in Surat. Built for children, the museum will have interactive displays, inquiry-based activities and inquisitiveness-based explorations.

Thereafter, he will travel to Bhavnagar to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple developmental initiatives worth over Rs 5,200 crore.

The prime minister will lay the foundation stone for the world's first CNG terminal and a brownfield port in the city. The port will be developed at a cost of over Rs 4,000 crore and will have state-of-the-art infrastructure for the CNG terminal. The port will have an ultra-modern container terminal, multipurpose terminal, and liquid terminal with direct door-step connectivity to the existing roadway and railway network.

The prime minister will also inaugurate a regional science centre in Bhavnagar, spread over 20 acres and built at a cost of around Rs 100 crore. The centre has several theme-based galleries including the marine aquatic gallery, automobile gallery, and the Nobel Prize gallery. The centre will provide a creative platform for children.

During the programme, the prime minister will also inaugurate various other projects including package 7 of Sauni Yojna Link 2, 25 MW Palitana Solar PV Project, APPL Container (Aawadkrupa Plastomech Pvt. Ltd.) project; and lay the foundation stone of projects including package 9 of Sauni Yojna Link 2, Chorvadla Zone water supply project, among others.

The same day evening, Prime Minister Modi will declare open the 36th National Games in a grand ceremony at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He will also address athletes from across the country participating in the National Games.

National Games are being held in the state of Gujarat for the very first time. It will be organised from September 29 to October 12, 2022. Nearly 15,000 sportspersons, coaches, and officials from across the country will participate in 36 sports disciplines, making it the biggest National Games ever.

Prime Minister Modi will also inaugurate the "Swarnim Gujarat Sports University" in Desar. This landmark project is expected to transform the sports education landscape in the country.

On the second day of his visit, Prime Minister Modi will flag off the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express at Gandhinagar station. He will also travel on the train from there to Kalupur Railway Station.

Around 11:30 am, the prime minister will flag off the Ahmedabad Metro Rail project and will take a metro ride from Kalupur station to Doordarshan Kendra metro station. Around 12 noon, he will inaugurate Phase-I of the Ahmedabad Metro project at a public function at the Ahmedabad Education Society in Ahmedabad.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Modi will lay the foundation stone and dedicate various projects worth over Rs 7,200 crore in Ambaji and perform Darshan and Pooja at Ambaji Temple. Thereafter, he will attend Maha Aarti at Gabbar Tirtha.

The programmes in Ambaji include laying the foundation stone of over 45,000 houses built under the PM Awas Yojana. Prime Minister Modi will also lay the foundation stone of Taranga Hill - Ambaji - Abu Road New Broad Gauge Line and development of pilgrimage facilities at Ambaji temple under the PRASAD scheme.

The new rail line is expected to benefit lakhs of devotees visiting Ambaji, one of the 51 Shakti Peethas and will enrich the worship experience of the devotees at all these pilgrimage places. Other projects whose foundation stone will be laid include the construction of the runway and associated infrastructure at Air Force Station, Deesa; Ambaji Bypass Road among others.

Prime Minister Modi will also dedicate the 62-km-long New Palanpur-New Mahesana section of the Western Freight Dedicated Corridor and the 13-km-long New Palanpur-New Chatodar Section (Palanpur bypass line). It will enhance connectivity to Pipavav, Deendayal Port Authority (Kandla), Mundra and other ports of Gujarat.

With the opening of these sections, 734 km of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor will become operational. The opening of this stretch will benefit industries in Mehsana-Palanpur in Gujarat; Swaroopganj, Keshavganj, Kishangarh in Rajasthan; Rewari-Manesar and Narnaul in Haryana. The prime minister will also dedicate various road projects including the widening of Mitha - Tharad - Deesa Road among others.