Modi to recite hymns with thousands in the city today

BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is arriving in the state on a one-day visit on Sunday and will take part in various programmes including a mass recitation of  ‘Soundarya Lahari’ hymns with thousands of devotees at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru on Sunday afternoon.

Modi will land at Mangaluru airport at 9 am by a special flight and from there, he will take a helicopter to Dharmasthala. Police have made elaborate security arrangements at the helipad and at Dharmasthala. At 11 am, he will have darshan and perform puja at Lord Manjunatha Swamy temple.

Modi will also be the chief guest at the golden jubilee celebrations of the ascension of Dr Veerendra Heggade as the Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara religious and social service institutions on Sunday. He will also take part in a rally at Ujire at 11.45 am besides taking part in the Dharmasthala Rural Development Programme.

Sources said that Modi will distribute Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development & Re-finance Agency (MUDRA) loans to some beneficiaries on the occasion. He will return to Mangaluru by helicopter from where he will take a special flight to Bengaluru.

The PM is expected to arrive at the HAL airport in Bengaluru at 2 pm where he will address party workers. He will also participate in a spiritual fete being organised by Vedanta Bharathi, a branch of Sringeri Sharada Peetha, at Palace Ground at 3 pm and is expected to speak to the gathering.

Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place at the grounds as 60,000 people are expected to attend the event. Traffic in the city is likely to be hit as traffic police have imposed traffic restrictions on several roads. Moreover, Ballari Road and other areas near the venue are expected to be congested due to the event.   

Dr Sridhar Bhat Ainakai, Director, Vedanta Bharati, said around 60,000 people are expected to take part in the mass recitation of  ‘Soundarya Lahari’ hymns. The event will mark the culmination of the programme organised by Vedanta Bharathi to spread the values of moral ethics, religious harmony and spiritual enlightenment in the state.  

On Saturday, around 70,000 students from 868 schools from Bengaluru and other parts of the state took part in a similar event and engaged in mass chanting of Soundarya Lahari slokas, Bhat said.
Later in the day, Modi will visit Bidar where he will flag off Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) services between Bidar and Kalaburgi at 6 pm from the Bidar railway station. He will address a public meeting at 6.30 pm at the Nehru Stadium Ground before heading back to New Delhi.

Prohibited spaces
Parking of all type of vehicles has been banned in the following areas from 6 am to 6 pm.
Around Palace Grounds, which includes Ramanamaharshi Road, C V Raman Road, Bellary Road, Jayamahal Road, M V Jayaram Road and Palace Road.
Old Airport Road, Cubbon Road, Chalukya Circle