Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, and inaugurated a slew of infrastructure products at Jammu and Kashmir. A 500KW Solar Power Plant was inaugurated at Palli village, along with 108 Jan Aushadhi Kendras. This was his first public event after Article 375 was scrapped in Jammu and Kashmir. The development projects include the opening of the Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel to establish all-weather connectivity between the two regions of the Union Territory.
"These projects will change the face of Jammu and Kashmir, and bring development to even the most remote village," PM Modi said.
Modi will participate in the celebration for the National Panchayati Raj Day and address 'Gram Sabhas' across the country, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement. He will also visit Palli Panchayat in Samba district. Seeking to develop and rejuvenate 75 water bodies in every district of the country, the prime minister will launch a new initiative named 'Amrit Sarovar', it said.
Modi is scheduled to attend the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards Ceremony in Mumbai later in the evening where he will receive the first Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award, the statement said. The award has been instituted in the memory of Lata Mangeshkar and will be given every year to a person for exemplary contribution towards nation building, it noted.
In the statement on Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the PMO said the government has been focused on bringing about wide ranging reforms to substantially improve governance and enhance ease of living for the people of the region at an unprecedented pace following the "Constitutional reforms" of August 2019, a reference to the abrogation of Article 370 and making the erstwhile state into a Union Territory.
The projects being inaugurated or whose foundation stones will be laid in this visit will go a long way in facilitating basic amenities, ensuring ease of mobility and development of infrastructure in the region, it said.
