Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Thursday reviewed preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jharsuguda on September 27.
In his seventh visit to Odisha since the BJP came to power in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil and lay the foundation stone of three railway projects worth more than Rs 1,700 crore.
He will also flag off the Brahmapur-Udhna (Surat) Amrit Bharat Express.
According to the schedule, the Prime Minister will depart from Delhi airport at 9.20 am by a special air service flight and reach Jharsuguda airport at 11.10 am. He will then travel by road and reach the Amalipali ground at 11.25 am, where he will address a massive Yuva Samavesh at Jharsuguda to mark the on-going Seva Paksha campaign.
Around 60,000 people, including the general public, women, students, and youth, are expected to gather for the event.
Modi will also participate in various foundation-stone laying ceremonies, inaugurations, and dedication of multiple projects to the nation, before departing for Delhi at 12.45 pm.
PM’s gift to Odisha
During the event, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for a rail flyover between Sambalpur city and Sarla to be built at a cost of Rs 273 crore: Designed to resolve a longstanding bottleneck at Sarla station, this flyover will ensure smooth and uninterrupted rail traffic on the heavily congested Sambalpur–Jharsuguda section, a critical corridor for coal, minerals, and industrial freight.
He will also dedicate two more projects:
● Doubling of the Koraput–Baiguda Rail Line (34 km, Rs 481 crore): A vital upgrade to facilitate smooth train movement, promote the transport of minerals and agricultural produce, and stimulate industrial growth in the resource-rich, hilly Koraput region.
● Doubling of the Manabar–Koraput–Gorapur Rail Line (82 km, Rs 955 crore): Paving the way for faster freight movement of iron ore from Bailadilla mines to steel plants nationwide, this crucial project will strengthen India’s growing steel industry while enhancing both passenger and freight services, benefiting Koraput (Odisha) and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) districts.
Additionally, the Prime Minister will flag off the Amrit Bharat Express between Brahmapur and Udhna (Surat), directly linking Odisha with Gujarat.
This Amrit Bharat Express will benefit passengers from Ganjam, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Balangir, and Nuapada in Odisha; Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Manyam in Andhra Pradesh; Mahasamund, Raipur, and Durg in Chhattisgarh; Gondia, Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Jalgaon, Dhule, and Nandurbar in Maharashtra; and Tapi and Surat in Gujarat.
“Together, these projects mark a transformative chapter in Odisha’s Rail infrastructure development. They will reduce travel times, enhance safety and punctuality, support industrial expansion, and create employment opportunities for farmers, traders, youth, and workers statewide,” an official release said.
Political angle
Earlier, Modi was scheduled to hold a rally in Berhampur. However, heavy rainfall forecast prompted a change of venue to Jharsuguda in western Odisha, which assumes significance in view of the upcoming by-election in Nuapada Assembly constituency.
Party leaders expect the Prime Minister’s presence to boost BJP prospects in the bypoll, necessitated by the death of three-time BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia.
The BJP had last won the seat in 2014 when Basanta Kumar Panda defeated Dholakia by 9610 votes.
Preparatory meeting
On Wednesday, Chief secretary Manoj Ahuja chaired a high-level review meeting at Jharsuguda, focussing on ensuring smooth conduct of the PM’s programme and finalising security, logistics and crowd management arrangements.
It was attended by senior officials including director of Intelligence RP Koche, ADG Santosh Bala, IG (northern range) Himanshu Lal, revenue divisional commissioner (north) Sachin Ramachandra Jadhav and collector Kunal Motiram Chavan.
The chief secretary also conducted a detailed inspection of Amlipali ground, the venue for Modi’s event, along with Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari, Bala, Lal, Chavan, Jharsuguda SP Gundala Reddy Raghavendra and commissioner-cum-secretary, Higher Education department Aravind Agrawal.
