Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a busy itinerary as he starts a two-day trip to four southern states on Friday: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
During his visit to the four southern states from November 11 to 12, PM Modi will launch development projects worth more than Rs 25,000 crore. Additionally, he will open an airport terminal and signal the start of the first Vande Bharat express in the area.
The BJP-ruled state of Karnataka is the first item on the Prime Minister’s agenda. According to a formal announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office, he would begin his agenda on Friday morning by delivering floral tributes to the statues of the saint poets Kanaka Dasa and Maharshi Valmiki at the state headquarters Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. Then, under his direction, the Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station would see the departure of the Mysuru-Chennai Vande Bharat Express. This will be the sixth overall and the first Vande Bharat Express train to pass through south India. It is believed that it will enhance connection between Chennai, a significant industrial hub, the tech and start-up powerhouse of Bengaluru, and Mysuru, a well-known tourist destination.
He’ll also give the all-clear for the Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan train to leave. According to a PMO release, Karnataka is the first state to join this train as part of the Bharat Gaurav scheme, in which the state’s administration and the Ministry of Railways work together to transport pilgrims from the state to Kashi.
Later that day, PM Modi would unveil the 108-foot-tall bronze statue of Bengaluru’s founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda known as the “Statue of Prosperity” and dedicate Terminal 2 of the international airport, which cost more than Rs 5,000 crore to build.
According to reports, Terminal 2 was created as an homage to Bengaluru’s “Garden city,” and the travelling experience is meant to resemble a “walk in the garden.” From the existing capacity of roughly 2.5 crore, the terminal is anticipated to increase the airport’s passenger handling capacity to 5–6 crore per year.
Following that, the Prime Minister will speak at a large gathering in front of thousands of people. The city and the locations of the activities Modi will attend have been given extensive security preparations.
With only around five months till the state’s Assembly elections, PM Modi’s visit is politically vital for the ruling BJP in Karnataka as the saffron party aims to regain power.
The PM will subsequently travel to Dindigul in neighbouring Tamil Nadu to attend the 36th Gandhigram Rural Institute commencement ceremony.
He will inaugurate and lay the cornerstone for many projects totaling more than Rs 10,500 crore on Saturday in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
Additionally, PM Modi will go to the RFCL facility in Ramagundam, Telangana, where he will dedicate and officially open a number of rail and road projects totaling more than Rs 9,500 crore.