PM Modi inaugurates multiple developmental projects in Puducherry

New Delhi, Feb 25: Ahead of assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development initiatives in Puducherry.

On Thursday morning, PM Modi arrived at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research in Puducherry where he launched and laid the foundation stone of several development projects.

On the project, PM Modi said the Government of India has made several efforts to improve rural and coastal connectivity, adding that the agriculture sector will gain from this across India. "It is our duty to ensure their produce gets good markets and good roads do exactly that," the PM said.

"If you ask me to share my manifesto for Puducherry, I will say, I want Puducherry to be the Best. NDA wants to make Puducherry the 'BEST'. By best I mean, B for Business Hub. E for Education Hub. S for Spiritual Hub. T for Tourism Hub," PM Modi said.

Earlier, according to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the prime minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development initiatives in Puducherry at around 11:30 AM. While at around 4 PM, he will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple infrastructure projects worth over Rs 12,400 crore in Coimbatore.

PM Modi will dedicate to the nation the Neyveli New Thermal Power Project -- a lignite based power plant designed for power generation capacity of 1000 MW with two units of 500 MW capacity each in Tamil Nadu.

The plant has been designed for 100 per cent ash utilisation and the power generated would benefit Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry, with Tamil Nadu having the major share of about 65 per cent, it said.

The prime minister will also dedicate to the nation the 709 MW solar power project of NLCIL, established over an area of about 2,670 acres of land across the districts of Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar. The project has been set up at a cost of over Rs 3,000 crore.

THe Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of the extension, renovation and modernisation of Lower Bhavani Project System.

The Bhavanisagar dam and the canal systems were completed in 1955. The Lower Bhavani System irrigates over 2 lakh acres of land in Erode, Tiruppur and Karur districts.

The extension, renovation and modernisation of Lower Bhavani System has been taken up at a cost of Rs 934 crore under NABARD Infrastructure Development Assistance, the PMO said.