PM Modi To Launch Rs 2,500-Crore Projects In Punjab On Friday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil several development projects worth over Rs 2,500 crore during his trip to Punjab on Friday (July 17). The Prime Minister's visit will focus on strengthening healthcare initiatives in the state along with new railway connectivity, officials said. 

The PM is likely to launch two new facilities of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, the Advanced Mother and Child Centre, and the Advanced Neurosciences Centre. He will also lay the foundation stone for a 150-bed critical care hospital block under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission.

These healthcare projects worth nearly Rs 1,200 crore will help to further advanced medical treatment, research and education in northern India.

Officials say that the Advanced Mother and Child Centre has been planned to augment PGIMER's capability to handle more than 6,000 high-risk deliveries every year. The Advanced Neurosciences Centre will help reduce waiting periods for treatment of patients of neurological disorders, as well as increase availability of specialized treatment of such disorders.

On this day, the Prime Minister will launch the new Sant Ravidas Express train which will start from Chheharta in Amritsar enroute Varanasi. This train is expected to connect Amritsar with Varanasi for devotees visiting the Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan Temple located in Seer Govardhanpur, Varanasi.

This launch assumes great significance against the backdrop of preparations for the grand celebrations marking 650th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidass next year. The Ravidasi community has a significant presence in the Doaba belt of Punjab, and this train service is expected to be helpful to thousands of devotees making regular visits to Varanasi.

According to the Railway authorities, the new service has been approved by the Railway Board and will operate three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The PM's schedule also includes Jalandhar city where he will launch the redevelopment of 75 railway stations across the country under station modernisation initiative of the Central Government. The historical Jalandhar Cantonment railway station is among these stations. It dates back to the British rule.

PM Modi's visit to Punjab comes after a few months since he paid a visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan, the spiritual centre of Ravidasia community in Punjab. During this visit to Punjab, he met Sant Niranjan Das, the spiritual head of the Dera. He was awarded Padma Shri recently.

Besides unveiling the development projects, this visit will also be closely watched for political reasons as this will be the first visit of the Prime Minister to Punjab following the new electoral strategy of the BJP in the state. The BJP has said that it would follow an independent strategy for Punjab in the coming elections.