Modi to visit TN, Lakshadweep and Kerala on Jan 2-3 to attend programmes

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi will visit Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and Kerala on January 2-3, an official statement released by Prime Minister's Office said on Sunday.

Modi will reach Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu where he will attend the 38th Convocation Ceremony of Bharathidasan University. Modi is the Chief Guest for the event.

Around noon, at a public programme in Tiruchirappalli, the Prime Minister will inaugurate, dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 19,850 crore related to aviation, rail, road, oil and gas, shipping and higher education sectors.

"At the public programme in Tiruchirappalli, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the New Terminal Building at Tiruchirappalli International Airport. Developed at a cost of more than 1100 crore, the two-level new international terminal building can serve more than 4.4 million passengers annually and about 3,500 passengers during peak hours. The new terminal hosts state-of-the-art amenities and features for passenger convenience," PMO said.

Modi will also dedicate to the nation multiple railway projects. These include the project for doubling of 41.4 km Salem-Magnesite Junction-Omalur-Mettur Dam section; project for doubling of rail line section of 160 km from Madurai-Tuticorin; and three projects for rail line electrification viz Tiruchchirappalli- Manamadurai- Virudhunagar; Virudhunagar-Tenkasi Junction; and Sengottai-Tenkasi Junction- Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur.

"The rail projects will help in improving the rail capacity to carry freight and passengers and contribute to economic development and employment generation in Tamil Nadu," PMO said in a statement.

The Prime Minister will dedicate five road sector projects which include the 39 km four-lane road for Trichy-Kallagam section of NH-81; 60 km long 4/2-laning of Kallagam- eensurutti section of NH-81; 29 km four-lane road of Chettikulam-Natham section of NH-785; 80 km long two lane with paved shoulder of Karaikudi- Ramanathapuram section of NH-536; and 44 km long four laning of section of NH-179A Salem-Tirupathur-Vaniyambadi Road.

"The road projects will facilitate safe and faster travel of people of the region and improve connectivity of industrial and commercial centres like Trichy, Srirangam, Chidambaram, Rameshwaram, Dhanushkodi, Uthirakosamangai, Devipattinam, Erwadi, Madurai, among others," PMO said.

The Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the General Cargo Berth-II (Automobile Export/Import Terminal-II & Capital Dredging Phase-V) of Kamarajar Port.

"The inauguration of General Cargo Berth-II will be a step towards strengthening the country's trade which will help boost economic growth and employment generation," PMO said.

The Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant (DFRP) at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam.

"DFRP, developed for Rs 400 crore, is equipped with a unique design, which is the only of its kind in the world and is capable of reprocessing both carbide and oxide fuels discharged from the fast reactors. It is entirely designed by Indian scientists and signifies a crucial step towards building large commercial-scale fast reactor fuel reprocessing plants," an official statement issued by PMO said.

Afterwards, around 3:15 pm, the Prime Minister will reach Agatti, Lakshadweep, where he will address a public function.

Prime Minister Office said that on January 3, 2024, at noon, Modi will reach Kavaratti, Lakshadweep, where he will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects in Lakshadweep related to sectors such as telecommunications, drinking water, solar power and health, among others.

According to PMO, the Prime Minister had resolved to overcome the challenge of slow internet speed in Lakshadweep island by initiating the Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fiber Connection (KLI - SOFC) project and announced the same in the Independence Day speech in August 2020 at Red Fort.

PMO said that the project has now been completed and will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister.

"This will lead to an increase in internet speed of more than 100 times (from 1.7 Gbps to 200 Gbps). For the first time since independence, Lakshadweep will be connected through Submarine Optic Fibre Cable," PMO said.

The Prime Minister will dedicate to the Nation the Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) plant at Kadmat.

"This will produce 1.5 lakh litres of clean drinking water every day. Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) in all households of Agatti and Minicoy islands," PMO said.

Other projects which are dedicated to Nation include the solar power plant at Kavaratti, which is the first-ever battery-backed solar power project of Lakshadweep.
PMO said that it will help to reduce dependency on diesel-based Power Generation plant; and the new administrative block and 80 Men barrack in India Reserve Battalion (IRBn) Complex at Kavaratti.

The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the renovation of the Primary Health Care facility in Kalpeni and the construction of five model Anganwadi Centres (Nand Ghars) in the five islands of Androth, Chetlat, Kadmat, Agatti and Minicoy.

Modi will visit Thrissur city on January 3.

Modi will take part in a roadshow and will also address a women's meeting. The event is being organised as thanksgiving for passing the Women's Reservation Bill.

The BJP is hoping to win the Trissur Lok Sabha seat and Modi’s visit to Thrissur will likely kick-off party's Lok Sabha election campaign in the state.

BJP is likely to field actor Suresh Gopi from Thrissur constituency. Ahead of Modi’s visit, Gopi’s posters have also come up in the city highlighting him as the BJP candidate from Thrissur.

Gopi had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election and 2021 assembly election from Thrissur constituency.

When asked if Modi’s visit to Thrissur is because BJP sees Thrissur as the best bet to win in Kerala, the state BJP President K. Surendran said that Modi in the past has visited the state capital, Kozhikode, Kochi and will also visit Thrissur.

The BJP-led NDA -- which contested all 20 seats during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls -- finished second in Thiruvananthapuram and a distant third in the remaining seats across the state.

The BJP has so far only won one assembly seat in the coastal state in 2016 assembly polls but lost it again during the 2021 assembly polls.