Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the fourth Vande Bharat Express train and lay the foundation stone of various projects in Himachal Pradesh’s Una and Chamba districts on Thursday.
The Prime Minister will arrive by helicopter at the Police Line Jhaleda and will flag off the Vande Bharat Express at Una railway station at 9.15 am.
The train will chug from Delhi to Amb Andaura Railway station in Una, officials told PTI. The train will run six days a week except on Wednesdays, with stops at Ambala, Chandigarh, Anandpur Sahib, and Una.
After the inauguration ceremony, he will then hold a public meeting at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. He will also lay the foundation stone of the first Bulk Drug Park at Haroli and the Una-Hamirpur new railway line.
The Bulk Drug Park in Una will be built at a cost of over Rs 1900 crore. The park will help reduce dependence on API imports. It is expected to attract investment of around Rs. 10,000 crore and provide employment to more than 20,000 people. It will also give a fillip to economic activities in the region, an official statement said.
While in the state, Modi will also dedicate IIIT Una to the nation, the foundation stone for which was laid by him in 2017. Currently, more than 530 students are pursuing studies in this institute.
He will then leave for the Chamba district. The Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of various projects at a public function at the Chaugan Maidan at noon. These projects include the 48 MW Chanju-III hydro-electric project and the 30 MW Deothal Chanju hydro-electric project which will generate over 270 million units of electricity annually. Himachal Pradesh is expected to get annual revenue of around Rs 110 crore from these projects.
The prime minister will also launch Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III in the state for upgrading of around 3125 km of roads. More than Rs 420 crore has been sanctioned by the Centre under this phase for the upgrade of 440 km of roads in 15 border and far-flung blocks of the state.
After addressing the public meeting in Chamba, he will return to Delhi via Pathankot in the afternoon.
The Prime Minister’s visit to Himachal Pradesh comes ahead of the polls that will be held later this year.
Last month, PM Modi flagged off the third Vande Bharat Express in another poll-bound state Gujarat. This train runs from Gandhinagar to Mumbai.
Read all the Latest Politics News and Breaking News here