Ahead of PM Modi’s Gujarat visit on June 17-18, Vadodara is gearing for a large gathering at Leprosy Ground. The public address is expected to be a grand event with the local unit of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) announcing that a dome is being constructed to house nearly five lakh participants.
A giant arena with seven state-of-the-art German domes has been constructed over 17 lakh square meters, with 80 LEDs and 4,500 fans. Nearly 500 technicians and tent workmen have been on since June 6, getting the ground ready. Overseeing the work are one superintendent engineer, 5 executive engineers, 15 deputy executive engineers and 30 assistant engineers. Other facilities medical teams on spot and e-toilet vans.
So far, the administration has reportedly disbursed “in crores” by way of various contracts. More khat muhurats, lokarpans and bhumi pujans during his visit are expected to add to the tally, added local sources.
Congress leader and advocate Shailesh Amin, who is part of the Vishwamitri Bachao Samiti–a citizens’ group in Vadodara, stated: “It is a shameful waste of public money. The event has been planned by the BJP and Vadodara city is facing a shortage of water with several parts of the east zone receiving contaminated water for months. In the tribal belt of Chhota Udepur, where people have to dig borewells to survive summers, the tenders issued by the GWSSB show the high-handedness of the government.”
The Prime Minister will also unveil 18 Railways projects during his one-day visit. He will also launch the state’s nutritional programme for pregnant women in tribal districts, added state education minister Jitu Vaghani. This is Modi’s second visit to his home state, where elections are due in December this year. He had visited the state on June 10.
PM Modi will also hoist the flag atop the newly refurbished Mahakali Mataji temple at Pavagadh in the Panchmahal district and then visit the Virasat Van. Thereafter, he will address the public rally, Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan, in Vadodara city.
He is also scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the permanent campus of the Central University of Gujarat to come up on a 100-acre land at Kundhela village near Vadodara. The Gujarat government has allotted the land, and the Centre has allocated Rs 743 crore for the construction of the campus of the Gujarat Kendriya Vishwavidyalaya in Vadodara, which has been functioning since 2009 from its temporary campus in Gandhinagar.
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