Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Warangal on Saturday morning to lay the foundation stone for various developmental projects even as the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) has boycotted the visit citing Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) failure to fulfil the promises made to Telangana and Mr. Modi’s ‘hatred’ towards the formation of Telangana itself.
Mr. Modi arrived at the Hakimpet airport at 9.30 a.m. and later took a helicopter to Mamunuru airstrip near Warangal. He landed at Mamunuru at 10.15 a.m. and went to offer prayers at the famous Bhadrakali temple in the city.
Prime Minister’s visit to Telangana comes in the wake of a change in leadership after weeks of public sparring senior leaders of the party had been indulging in. State BJP chief Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay was replaced with Union Tourism Minister, G. Kishan Reddy. His visit also assumes significance amid rumours that “BJP and BRS were working together”.
Meanwhile, the BRS working president and Municipal Minister, K.T. Rama Rao tweeted reminding the BJP about the “forgotten promises” made to Telangana. The Minister tweeted, “The long-standing dream of the people of Telangana for an integrated steel plant at Bayyaram remains unfulfilled, despite being promised in the AP Reorganisation Act. Even after 9 years, and several reminders, the BJP-led Union Government’s continued denial is deeply disheartening.”
He further said “Bayyaram has all the necessary resources, from iron ore to land, water, power, coal, and a skilled workforce. Your visible apathy towards Telangana is concerning and it denies job opportunities for 15,000 local youngsters. We demand that a strong commitment regarding the establishment of the Steel Plant at Bayyaram be made during your visit to Telangana.”
PM to inaugurate developmental projects
During the visit, Mr. Modi will lay the foundation stone of several projects worth close to ₹6,100 crore. These include the 108-km long Mancherial–Warangal section of the Nagpur-Vijayawada Corridor, which will reduce the distance between Mancherial and Warangal by about 34 km, decongesting traffic on NH-44 and NH-65.
The foundation stone for the upgradation of the 68-km long Karimnagar–Warangal section of NH-563 from the existing two-lane to a four-lane configuration will also be laid. This will help in improving connectivity to Hyderabad-Warangal Industrial Corridor, Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, and the special economic zone at Warangal.
Mr. Modi will also lay the foundation stone of the Railway wagon manufacturing unit at Kazipet being taken up at a cost of ₹521 crore.
