PM’s schedule for Bilaspur and Varanasi to remain unchanged

New Delhi, Nov 12: Though most of the programmes of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been cancelled or postponed due to death of senior leader Anant Kumar but scheduled of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain the same. The PM will to visit Bilaspur to address election rally while after the rally, he will reach his parliamentary constituency Varanasi to inaugurate sevral infrastructure project.

It is learned that the PM was expected to address a rally in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) in the morning which might get a bit delayed. After this rally, the PM will reach Varanasi to inaugurate two major national highways and an inland waterways project. The two roads have a combined length of 34 km and have been laid at a cost of Rs 1,571.95 crore. The 16.55-km Varanasi Ring Road Phase-I has been completed at a cost of Rs 759.36 crore, while the four-laning and construction of 17.25-km-long Babatpur-Varanasi Road on NH-56 has cost Rs 812.59 crore.

The Babatpur Airport Highway will link Varanasi city to airport and go on to link Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Lucknow districts. With the flyover at Harhua and a road over bridge (ROB) at Tarna, the new road plan will reduce travel time from Varanasi to the airport, providing relief to the locals and tourists coming here, the statement said.

The Ring Road, with two ROBs and a flyover, is expected to reduce traffic, fuel usage and pollution on NH 56 (Lucknow-Varanasi), NH 233 (Azamgarh-Varanasi), NH 29 (Gorakhpur-Varanasi) and Ayodhya-Varanasi highway. Further the ring road is expected to provide smooth road access to Sarnath, a renowned Buddhist pilgrimage site.

The PM will inaugurate the first multi-modal waterways terminal on the Ganga river as part of the Centre's Jal Marg Vikas Project which aims to develop the stretch of the river between Varanasi and Haldia for navigation of large vessels weighing up to 1,500 to 2,000 tonnes. The objective of the project is to promote inland waterways as a cheap and environment-friendly means of transportation, especially for cargo movement. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the project implementing agency.