Bengaluru, Feb 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on his fifth visit to poll-bound Karnataka this year on Monday to inaugurate Shivamogga airport and lay the foundation for various development projects in Belagavi.
According to an official statement, the Prime Minister will undertake a walk-through and inspect the airport in Shivamogga. Inauguration and laying of the foundation stone of multiple projects in the district is also part of the programme.
The new airport has been developed at a cost of around Rs 450 crore. The lotus-shaped Passenger Terminal Building of the airport can handle 300 passengers per hour. The airport is expected to improve connectivity and accessibility of Shivamogga and other neighbouring areas in the Malnad region.
The foundation stone for two railway projects, Shikaripura-Ranebennur new Railway line and Koteganguru Railway coaching depot, will also be laid during the visit. The Shivamogga-Shikaripura-Ranebennur new Railway line will be developed at a cost of Rs. 990 crores and will provide enhanced connectivity to the Malnad region with the Bengaluru-Mumbai mainline.
The Koteganguru railway coaching depot in Shivamogga city will be developed at an outlay of more than Rs 100 crore to help start new trains from Shivamogga and decongest maintenance facilities in Bengaluru and Mysuru. The PM will lay the foundation stone for multiple road development projects worth more than Rs 215 crore, including construction of a new bypass road for Shikaripura town connecting Byndur-Ranebennur, widening of NH-169A from Megaravalli to Agumbe; and construction of a new bridge at Bharathipura in Teerthahalli Taluk.
He will also unveil and lay the foundation stone of multi-village schemes to the tune of over Rs 950 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission. This includes inauguration of a scheme for Gowthamapura and 127 other villages and laying the foundation stone for three other schemes to be developed at a total cost of more than Rs 860 crore. The four schemes aim to provide functional household piped water connections, which is expected to benefit a total of more than 4.4 lakh people.
As many as 44 Smart City projects worth more than Rs 895 crores in Shivamogga will also be inaugurated. The projects include eight smart road packages of 110 km length, integrated command and control centre and multi-level car parking; smart bus shelter projects, intelligent solid waste management system, and creation of parks and riverfront development projects, among others.
Later, Modi will fly to Belagavi where he will release the 13th instalment of about Rs 16,000 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through direct benefits transfer to more than eight crore beneficiaries. Under the scheme, eligible farmer families are provided a benefit of Rs 6000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2000 each.
He will dedicate the Belagavi Railway station building to the nation, which has been redeveloped at an approximate cost of about Rs 190 crore to provide world-class amenities to the passengers. He will also launch the rail line doubling project between Londa-Belagavi worth Rs 930 crores. The project will enhance line capacity along the busy Mumbai-Pune-Hubballi-Bengaluru railway line, leading to the promotion of trade, commerce and economic activities in the region.
Modi's visit to Shivamogga on Monday will be the fifth this year. He had come to Hubballi on January 12 to inaugurate the Hubballi Youth Festival. The general assembly elections in Karnataka are due sometime in April-May.
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