PM Modi to offer worship at Lord Balaji temple on Oct 22

Tirupati, Oct 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will offer worship at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at nearby Tirumala on October 22, a top temple official said today.

On his maiden visit to the temple after becoming Prime Minister, Narendra Modi would reach here in the late afternoon of October 22, Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devassthanams (TTD), which manages the cash-rich shrine, Chadalavada Krishnamurthy told PTI.

After laying the foundation stone for Andhra Pradesh's new capital city Amaravathi in the forenoon, Modi accompanied by state Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu would arrive here on a three-hour visit, he said.

Narendra Modi had visited the temple and offered prayers as the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate on May 1 last year.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told reporters here that before proceeding to Tirumala, Modi would inaugurate a new passenger terminal constructed at a cost of Rs.190 crore at the Tirupati Airport.

He would also lay the foundation stone for a mobile phones manufacturing hub to come up close to the airport, District Collector Siddharth Jain said in a press release.

PTI