PM to unveil multiple projects worth Rs 6400 cr
Nationwide projects related to tourism sector to be launched
Will meet with families of martyrs, award winners; distribute job letters
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake first visit to Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370 tomorrow to address a mammoth public rally at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar for which preparations are in full swing with various parts of Srinagar decorated with BJP flags and hoardings.
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Modi will unveil multiple development projects worth more than Rs 6,400 crore including 52 tourism sector projects under Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD Scheme across the country, from Srinagar virtually. He will announce tourist destinations selected under Challenge Based Destination Development Scheme and will launch `Dekho Apna Desh People’s Choice 2024′ and `Chalo India Global Diaspora Campaign’.
To be joined by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh, the Prime Minister will meet the families of martyrs and award winners, distribute appointment orders to new Government recruits of Jammu and Kashmir and interact with beneficiaries of various welfare schemes of Central and UT Governments, at the Bakshi Stadium.
He will visit various stalls and exhibitions at the Stadium on his arrival around 12 noon.
Sinha will deliver welcome speech while Dr Jitendra Singh will give introductory address.
Ahead of his visit, Narendra Modi tonight wrote on X: “I will be in Srinagar tomorrow, 7th March to take part in the `Viksit Bharat Viksit Jammu Kashmir’ programme. Various development works will also be dedicated to the nation. Notable among them are works worth over Rs 5000 crore relating to boosting the agro-economy. Various works linked with tourism will also be dedicated to the nation”.
Bakshi Stadium, the venue of the Prime Minister’s rally, which is expected to be thronged by thousands of the people, has been draped in tricolor. The Stadium and various parts of Srinagar presented a festive look with banners, hoardings and buntings erected to welcome the Prime Minister for the first time in Kashmir after the Central Government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution granting special status to erstwhile State on August 5, 2019.
Modi’s visit, his second to the UT in about a fortnight, is expected to further boost the BJP prospects in Lok Sabha elections as the party is eyeing three out of five seats this time as against two won by it for two consecutive elections in 2014 and 2019. Besides Udhampur and Jammu, the BJP is hoping victory in Anantnag-Rajouri-Poonch seat banking on Pahari electorates who have been conferred Scheduled Tribe status recently. Modi had addressed a massive rally at MA Stadium in Jammu on February 20 and launched projects worth over Rs 32,000 crore.
Modi will attend the ‘Viksit Bharat Viksit Jammu Kashmir’ programme at the Stadium in Srinagar and inaugurate initiatives worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore for boosting the agri-economy in the Union Territory, an official statement issued ahead of the PM’s visit said.
Modi will launch nationwide projects related to the tourism sector worth more than Rs 1,400 crore under the ‘Swadesh Darshan’ and ‘PRASHAD’ (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive) schemes, including a project for the integrated development of the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar.
Modi will distribute appointment letters to nearly 1,000 newly recruited government employees in Jammu and Kashmir and also interact with the beneficiaries of various central schemes, including women achievers, farmers and entrepreneurs.
In a step that will provide a major boost to the agri-economy of the region under the ‘Holistic Agriculture Development Programme’ (HADP) to be launched by the Prime Minister, the statement said it will cover the full spectrum of activities in three major domains of horticulture, agriculture and livestock husbandry.
The programme is expected to equip about 2.5 lakh farmers with skill-development training and about 2,000 farmers’ service centres will be established and robust value chains put in place for the welfare of the farming community.
The tourism projects to be launched by Modi are in line with his vision to improve the overall experience of tourists and pilgrims visiting prominent pilgrimage and tourism sites across the country by building world-class infrastructure and amenities at these sites, the statement said.
Besides the Hazratbal shrine project, the initiatives include tourism facilities in the Northeast Circuit in Meghalaya, Spiritual Circuit in Bihar and Rajasthan, Rural and Tirthankar Circuit in Bihar and some other projects in states such as Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
Modi will also launch 43 projects that will develop a wide range of pilgrimage and tourist sites across the country.
These include important religious sites like the Annavaram Temple in Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh; Navagraha temples in Thanjavur and Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu and Karaikal district of Puducherry, Sri Chamundeshwari Devi Temple, Mysore District, Karnataka; Karni Mata Mandir, Bikaner District Rajasthan; Maa Chintpurni Temple, Una District, Himachal Pradesh; Basilica of Bom Jesus Church, Goa, among others.
The projects also include development of various other sites and experience centres like Mechuka Adventure Park in Arunachal Pradesh; Rural Tourism Cluster Experience at Gunji, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand; Ecotourism zone at Ananthagiri forest, Ananathagiri, Telangana; Meghalayan Age Cave Experience and Waterfall Trails Experience at Sohra, Meghalaya; Reimagining Cinnamara Tea Estate, Jorhat, Assam; Ecotourism experience at Kanjli Wetland, Kapurthala, Punjab and Julley Leh Biodiversity Park, Leh, among others.
The 42 destinations have been identified in four categories (16 in Culture & Heritage Destination; 11 in spiritual destinations; 10 in Ecotourism and Amrit Dharohar; and 5 in Vibrant Village).
He will also launch the first-ever countrywide initiative to identify the pulse of the nation on tourism in the form of ‘Dekho Apna Desh People’s Choice 2024’, the statement said.
The ‘Chalo India Global Diaspora’ Campaign aims at inspiring the Indian diaspora to become Incredible India ambassadors and promote tourism in India.
“The campaign is being launched based on the clarion call of the Prime Minister, wherein he requested Indian diaspora members to encourage at least five non-Indian friends to travel to India. With more than three crore overseas Indians, the Indian diaspora can serve as a powerful catalyst for Indian tourism, acting as cultural ambassadors,” the statement said.
During the programme, Prime Minister Modi will announce 42 tourist destinations selected under Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD) Scheme. The innovative scheme, announced during Union Budget 2023-24, aims to provide end-to-end tourist experiences by catalysing development of tourist destinations while also promoting sustainability and ushering competitiveness in the tourism sector.
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