PM Narendra Modi in Varanasi today, to unveil projects of over Rs 1,780 cr

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the much-awaited Rs 645-crore passenger ropeway during his visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

The ropeway is among the projects worth Rs 1,780 crore which Modi will either inaugurate or lay the foundation stone of during a programme at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University ground.

The Prime Minister will also address the One World TB Summit at Rudrakash Convention Centre during the visit.

The 3.75-km Varanasi Cantt station to Godowlia ropeway will have five stations and facilitate the ease of movement for tourists, pilgrims and residents of Varanasi.

Varanasi Development Authority Vice-Chairman, Abhishek Goyal, said, "In the first phase, the country's first public transport ropeway will operate from Cantt to Godowlia in Kashi. When the project takes shape, pilgrims will be able to board the ropeway to reach Godowlia, Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Dashashwamedh Ghat. Through this service, they would not have to face traffic on the roads."

Anurag Tripathi, Project Director, National Highways Logistics Pvt. Ltd, said India would be the third country in the world after Bolivia and Mexico City to have a ropeway for public transport.

The Prime Minister, during his visit, will also launch TB-Mukt Panchayat initiative, the official pan-India rollout of a shorter preventive treatment and family-centric care model for TB and release of India's Annual TB Report 2023, according to a press statement from PIB.

He will also award select states/Union Territories and districts for their progress towards ending TB.

Varanasi Chief Medical Officer, Sandeep Chaudhary, said, "All preparations for the Tuberculosis Summit have been completed. This year's theme for World Tuberculosis Day is "Yes! We can eliminate TB".

"The One World TB Summit 2023 in Kashi is being organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and International Organisation 'Stop TB Partnership' on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day on March 24," Chaudhary added.

Representative of WHO's regional office, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also participate in the event.

In March 2018, during the End TB summit held in New Delhi, Modi had called on India to achieve TB-related SDG (sustainable development goal) targets by 2025, five years ahead of the deadline.

Modi will also lay the foundation stone of 55 MLD sewage treatment plant at Bhagwanpur under the Namami Ganga Scheme. It will be built at a cost of more than Rs 300 crore.

He will also lay the foundation stone of second and third phases of redevelopment work of Sigra Stadium and LPG bottling plant at Isarwar village, Sewapuri, to be built by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

Various other projects include a primary health centre at Bharthara village and a floating jetty with changing rooms, among others.

The projects also include 19 drinking water schemes, which will benefit more than three lakh people living in 63 gram panchayats and an Integrated Pack house at Karakhiyaon, Varanasi, where grading, sorting, processing of fruits and vegetables will be possible.

Besides, Modi will dedicate various projects under the Varanasi Smart City Mission, including redevelopment work of Rajghat and Mahmoorganj government schools; beautification of internal city roads; redevelopment of six parks and ponds of the city, among others.

The other infrastructure projects he will dedicate include an ATC (air traffic control) tower at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi; 2 MW solar power plant at water works premises, Bhelupur; 800 KW solar power plant at Konia pumping station; new community health centre at Sarnath; infrastructure improvement of industrial estate at Chandpur; rejuvenation of temples at Kedareshwar, Vishweshwar and Omkareshwar Khand Parikrama, among others.