Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, his Lok Sabha constituency has undergone a makeover of sorts. Visuals from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi showed white cloth 'curtains' bordering the road. Modi had reached UP earlier today and is slated to inaugurate a slew of projects.
"Tomorrow, 15th July, I will be in Kashi to inaugurate a wide range of development works worth over Rs. 1500 crore. These works will further 'Ease of Living' for the people of Kashi and Poorvanchal," PM Modi had tweeted on Wednesday. In follow-up posts he had also outlined details of the projects in question.
While it was not immediately clear whether the white cloth was intended to be a strange sort of decoration or whether it extended throughout the city, some on Twitter saw echoes of 2020's Namaste Trump event that saw a 7-foot wall be constructed in front of a slum. It must be noted however that the cloth appeared to be covering construction work, pavements, greenery as well as (presumably) residential structures.
The images have left social media users rather baffled, with some wondering why greenery was being covered up. Some suggested that the organisers of the Namaste Trump event might have served as inspiration for the strange decor. Others still took a potshot at Varanasi's 'smart city' tag wondering what had gone wrong.
According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), projects worth around Rs 744 crores will be inaugurated. PM Modi will also lay the foundation stones of several projects and public works worth around Rs 839 crores. "These include the Centre for Skill and Technical Support of Central Institute of Petrochemical Engineering and Technology (CIPET), 143 rural projects under Jal Jeevan Mission and mango and vegetable integrated pack house in Karkhiyanv," read the release by PMO.
