Union Home Minister Amit Shah will arrive in Chennai on Saturday to lay foundation stone for a slew of government projects. The former BJP leader’s visit to poll-bound Tamil Nadu has created ripples in political circles as the saffron party is keen to make inroads in the Dravidian state.
Shah will meet office-bearers and cadres of the BJP who are planning to accord him a grand welcome.
The BJP had got a shot in the arm in the state recently with former Congress leader and actress Khushboo Sundar joining the party. Speculation is rife that M.K. Alagiri, elder son of late DMK veteran M. Karunanidhi, is poised to float his own party and is keen on stitching an alliance with the BJP.
There have been reports that Shah will meet superstar Rajinikanth who had earlier said that he would take the plunge in electoral politics. However, neither the BJP nor the actor has confirmed it.
During his visit, Shah will dedicate the Rs 380 crore Thervoy Kandigai reservoir in neighbouring Tiruvallur district, and lay the foundation stones for a slew of infrastructure projects worth over Rs 67,000 crore.
Shah will also lay the foundation stone for the phase II of Chennai Metro Rail at an estimated cost of Rs 61,843 crore at a function in which Chief Minister K. Palaniswami would preside.
The much-delayed reservoir in Tiruvallur district, formed by combining two lakes--Thervoy Kandigai and Kannankottai, is expected to meet Chennai's additional requirement for drinking water. Spread across 1,495 acres, it will serve as the fifth reservoir for the city and may help avert drought-like situation.
It would facilitate the supply of 65 million litres a day (MLD) water to the city and the project will raise the combined storage of water in the lakes feeding the metro by 1,000 mcft, a Public Works Department (PWD) official said.
Besides the phase II project of Chennai Metro Rail, Shah would also lay the foundation stones for the Coimbatore-Avinashi elevated expressway project, Indian Oil
Corporation's petroleum terminal at Vallur and a Rs 1400 crore Lube Plant at Amullaivoyal among others, the release said.
With inputs from PTI
