PM to gift projects worth ₹1,583 crore to Varanasi
VARANASI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation of 134 developments projects worth around Rs 1,583 crore during his visit to Varanasi on July 15.
Kashi region BJP president Mahesh Chandra Srivastava said the PM will inaugurate 68 development projects worth Rs 744 crore and lay the foundation of over 65 projects worth Rs 839 crore, besides addressing a public meeting at IIT-BHU ground during his visit to the temple city.
These projects include the inauguration of Varanasi International Cooperation and Convention Centre (VICCC) ‘Rudraksha’, Mother and Child Heath Wing of the SSL Hospital (BHU), Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, operation of cruise boat from Rajghat to Assi Ghat, operation of RORO vessels in Ganga, installation of signages at all 84 ghats and others.
Srivastava said the Prime Minister will launch the developmental projects during a pro
gramme at the IIT-BHU ground. After that, he will address people present in the programme.
Thereafter, the PM will visit the VICCC and inaugurate it. Ambassador of Japan to India, Suzuki Satoshi, his wife Chikaga Suzuki, counsellor Kiyose Kazuhiro, secretary Oda Akari and a three-member-team of Japan International Cooperation Agency, led by its chief representative Matsumoto Katsuo will attend the inaugural ceremony of the VICCC. Special arrangements have been made to give a welcome to Suzuki Satoshi, added Srivastava.
The PM will interact with around 300 prominent people of Kashi in the auditorium of VICCC. In December 2015, the then Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had visited Varanasi, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Abe had gifted the VICCC project to the city. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had funded the construction of the VICCC, which cost around Rs 186 crore.
Japanese company Fujita Corporation, which was given the contract to construct the centre, built it and handed it over it to the Varanasi Smart City recently for its management and operation. After inaugurating the VICCC, the PM will go back to the BHU, where he will interact with a team of 25 doctors regarding preparations to deal with the possible third wave of Covid, added Srivastava.