Narendra Modi to visit Naxal-affected Dantewada today

Mangalore Today News Network

Raipur, May 09, 2015:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday visit Naxal-affected Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh to take stock of socio-economic development initiatives being taken there.

The Prime Minister will also hand over bonuses to two persons engaged in picking ’Tendu’ leaves, used for making bidis, besides handing over key of a pickup van to a Dantewada resident.
Modi will also visit a Livelihood College that has been imparting necessary skills to the youth living in Dantewada region to help them get suitable jobs.

The PM will visit the Education City in Dantewada spread across over 100 acres and built at the cost of approximately Rs 120 crore. It is estimated to serve almost 5,000 most deprived children of the region every year by providing them the opportunity to have quality education.

Another MoU for second phase of railway-link between Rowghat and Jagdalpur will be inked during the Prime Minister’s visit. The 140-km rail link, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 24,000 crore, will connect Bastar region with important cities of the state like Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg.
 The rail link will also help in easy and cheaper transportation of iron ore for industries. A MoU for second phase of Rowghat-Jagdalpur line was signed earlier also but was shelved due to lack of funds.

A Memorandum of Understanding for setting up of the ultra-mega steel plant at Dilmili village in Dantewada, with a capacity of three million tonne every year, will be signed during the Modi’s visit. Chhattisgarh will have direct investment of more than Rs 18,000 crore through this project. Over 10,000 people in the region will have direct and indirect employment opportunities through this project.

The Prime Minister will have ’Mann Ki Baat’ with six children, whose parents had been killed by Maoists, and will be present during the signing of MoUs for setting up an ultra mega steel plant and the second phase of Rowghat-Jagdalpur railway line, state government officials said.
Dantewada in tribal Bastar region, is rich in mineral resources, especially iron ore. The area has witnessed a string of Naxal attacks in the past, with the worst being the 2010 Maoist assault that left 76 CRPF personnel dead.

Before flying to Kolkata later in the day, the Prime Minister will address a public meeting at Dantewada, considered a hub of Naxal activities.

Modi, after landing in Raipur, will fly to Dantewada, worst-hit by Naxalism and undertake a road journey of nearly 22 kilometres.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Naya Raipur has been cancelled after at least 50 persons were injured yesterday, mostly policemen, when the dome over a stage being erected for Modi’s public rally collapsed in severe storm. The Prime Minister was scheduled to inaugurate an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and Police headquarters, besides laying the foundation stone for construction of 40,000 affordable houses for the Lower Income Group and Economically Weaker Sections at Naya Raipur.

 

Courtesy: Zeeenews