Assam Decked Up Ahead Of Modi's Visit, CM Mamata To Skip Event With The Prime Minister In Bengal Today

This will be PM Modi's second visit to Bengal in 2 weeks and Mamata Banerjee will not attend the event considering the 'humiliation' she faced when PM Modi visited Bengal the last time. PM will also visit poll bound Assam to inaugurate infrastructural projects.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the two poll-bound states Assam and West Bengal today to lay the foundation stone of various infrastructure projects. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to also address public meetings on these occasions in the two states.

According to a statement released by the PMO, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will first visit Assam at around 11.45 am, will lay the foundation stone of two hospitals and launch 'Asom Mala', a programme for state highways and major district roads, at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur District, Assam.

Ahead of PM's visit to the north east state, Assam was all decked up to welcome PM Modi. The Prime Minister also tweeted and said that he is glad to witness the enthusiasm of the people of Assam. 

According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the ‘Asom Mala’ is aimed at helping improve the state highways and major district roads network in the state. It will provide quality inter-linkage roads between the National Highways and the rural roads network as well as facilitate seamless multi-modal transportation. It will also interconnect economic growth centers with transportation corridors and improve inter-state connectivity.

The PMO further said the programme is unique for its emphasis on effective maintenance through continuous field data collection and its linkage with the Road Asset Management System. 

Prime Minister Modi will also lay the foundation stone of two medical colleges and hospitals, which are being set up at Biswanath and Charaideo, at a total estimated project cost of over Rs 1,100 crore. 

PM's visit to Bengal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit West Bengal later in the evening, this will be PM's second visit to the poll bound state in 2 weeks. According to reports, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will not attend today's event after facing “humiliation” at the event organised at Victoria Memorial in Kolkata on the birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose on January 23.

During the Jan 23 event in Kolkata, Banerjee was heckled by a section of the audience and CM refused to speaks when the audience shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ when Banerjee was about to deliver her speech. So, Banerjee has decided to skip the event in Haldia despite being invited for it.

PM Modi will dedicate to the nation and also lay the foundation stone of key infrastructure projects at Haldia in West Bengal. He will also inaugurate an LPG import terminal built by the state-run BPCL that has been constructed at an investment of around Rs 1,100 crore and has a capacity of one million metric tonne per annum.

According to the PMO, it marks an important milestone towards achieving ‘one nation, one gas grid’. Constructed with an investment of about Rs 2,400 crore, the pipeline will help revival of HURL Sindri (Jharkhand) fertilizer plant, supply gas to Matix Fertilizer Plant in Durgapur (West Bengal) and cater to the gas demand of industrial, commercial, and automobile sectors, and city gas distribution across all major towns in the state.

Prime Minister Modi will also lay the foundation stone of the second Catalytic-Isodewaxing unit of Haldia Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation. This unit will have a capacity of 2,70,000 metric tonne per annum, and once commissioned, is expected to result in a saving of about USD 185 Million in foreign exchange.