Surat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a roadshow after he touched down in Surat on a two-day visit to his home state Gujarat.
A huge crowd gathered to welcome the Prime Minister as his cavalcade moved forward.
Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicate various projects worth more than Rs 3,400 crores in Surat.
Addressing after launching developmental projects worth Rs 3,400 crore, PM Modi said, "When the 'Dream City' project is completed, Surat is going to develop into one of the safest and most convenient diamond trading hubs in the world. The government has given approval to the power loom mega cluster which will lessen the problems of the power loom workers. It will also solve the pollution problems." Notably, the DREAM City project has been launched with the vision to meet the growing demand for commercial and residential space for the rapidly growing diamond trading sector in Surat.
Stating that people from across the country live in Surat, the Prime Minister called the city a "mini-India".
"It's my privilege to lay the foundation stone for infrastructure, sports & spiritual destinations in Gujarat during ongoing celebrations of Navratri... Surat is a great example of 'Jan Bhagidari' and unity. People from across India live in Surat, it's a mini-India," he said.
The Prime Minister further said that the four Ps - 'People's Public Private Partnership' - make Surat a special city.
"When there was a discussion on the three Ps; Public Private Partnership in the initial decades of this century, I used to say that Surat is an example of four Ps; People's Public Private Partnership. This model makes Surat special. I am pleased that Surat is one of the fastest developing cities in the world today which is benefitting every business," he said.
"In the last two decades, we built around 80,000 homes for the poor in Surat, uplifting their standard of living. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, about 4 crore poor patients got free medical treatment in the country, of which over 32 lakh patients are from Gujarat and 1.25 lakh from Surat," PM Modi added.
Earlier today, the Prime Minister held a roadshow. A huge crowd gathered to welcome the Prime Minister as his cavalcade moved forward.
Several events have been lined up for the Prime Minister during his visit to the poll-bound state. He will also participate in Navratri celebrations. These include water supply and drainage projects, DREAM City, Biodiversity Park and other development projects such as public infrastructure, heritage restoration, city bus/BRTS infrastructure, and electric vehicle infrastructure as well as joint projects by the central and state government.
Phase-I of road infrastructure and the main entrance of Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City will also be inaugurated.
The DREAM City project has been launched with the vision to meet the growing demand for commercial and residential space for the rapidly growing diamond trading sector in Surat. The prime minister will also lay the foundation stone for Phase II of the project.
Prime Minister Modi will also lay the foundation stone of a biodiversity park, being built over 87 hectares, besides inaugurating the Khoj Museum at Science Centre in Surat. Built for children, the museum will have interactive displays, inquiry-based activities and inquisitiveness-based explorations.
Thereafter, he will travel to Bhavnagar to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple developmental initiatives worth over Rs 5,200 crore.
The prime minister will lay the foundation stone for the world's first CNG terminal and a brownfield port in the city. The port will be developed at a cost of over Rs 4,000 crore and will have the state-of-the-art infrastructure for the CNG terminal. The port will have an ultra-modern container terminal, multipurpose terminal, and liquid terminal with direct door-step connectivity to the existing roadway and railway network.
The prime minister will also inaugurate a regional science centre in Bhavnagar, spread over 20 acres and built at a cost of around Rs 100 crore. The centre has several theme-based galleries including the marine aquatic gallery, automobile gallery, and the Nobel Prize gallery. The centre will provide a creative platform for children.
During the programme, the prime minister will also inaugurate various other projects including package 7 of Sauni Yojna Link 2, 25 MW Palitana Solar PV Project, APPL Container (Aawadkrupa Plastomech Pvt. Ltd.) project; and lay the foundation stone of projects including package 9 of Sauni Yojna Link 2, Chorvadla Zone water supply project, among others.
