PM Narendra Modi in Mandya, Dharwad today to launch projects worth Rs 16,000 crore

MANDYA/DHARWAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Karnataka on Sunday, just ahead of the May assembly polls, to either inaugurate development projects or lay the foundation stones for new infrastructure initiatives in Mandya and Dharwad districts worth Rs 16,000 crore.
From the opening of a 10-lane expressway and a newIIT campus to addressing a public rally, the PM has a packed schedule for his visit to the state, his sixth this year.
Inauguration of the 10-lane, 118km-long BengaluruMysuru Expressway, developed at a cost of around Rs 8,480 crore, is top of the PM’s agenda for the day. Later, he will leave for Hubballi to open a new IIT campus in Dharwad, developed at a cost of more than Rs 850 crore.
The BJP stalwart’s presence in Mandya and Dharwad assumes political significance as the saffron party is planning to woo the two most powerful and dominant castes in the state — the Lingayats in North Karnataka and the Vokkaligas in the Old Mysuru region — by showcasing a slew of development projects.
Mandya, in the Old Mysuru region, is a Vokkaliga-dominated district, largely seen as a bastion of JD(S), where the Congress too is strong.
Modi’s infra push, Sumalatha entry give boost to BJP
The BJP is now trying to make inroads there, having realised that without winning the confidence of the people in this region, winning a majority in the Karnataka assembly will remain a pipe dream.
Buoyed by Modi’s infrastructure push and a fresh face in the form of Sumalatha Ambareesh, who pledged her allegiance to the party just ahead of the PM’s visit, BJP is hoping to make a sizeable impact at the hustings. Given such a scenario, the significance of Modi’s mega public rally at Gejjalagere in Maddur taluk of Mandya is all too obvious. “The rapid pace of development of infrastructure projects has been a testament to the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure world-class connectivity across the country. It will also act as a catalyst for socioeconomic development in the region,” a senior BJP functionary said.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone of the 92km Mysuru-Kushalnagar, four-lane highway, to be developed at a cost of around Rs 4,130 crore. The project will play a key role in reducing travel time between Kushalnagar and Bengaluru from about five hours to just two-and-a-half hours.
Modi will also dedicate to the na tion the longest railway platform in the world at Sri Siddharoodha Swamiji Hubballi, recently recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. The 1,507-metre platform has been built at a cost of about Rs 20 crore.
In Hubballi-Dharwad, the PM will dedicate to the nation the electrification of the Hosapete-Hubballi-Tinaighat section of the railway network and the upgradation of Hosapete Station.
Apart from these, laying the foundation stones for various projects of the Hubballi-Dharwad smart city, the Tupparihalla Flood Damage Control Project, the Jayadeva Hospital and Research Center and the Dharwad Multi Village Water Supply Scheme are also part of the PM’s activities for the day.