PM Modi in Karnataka on Monday, to inaugurate Shivamogga airport

PTI, Feb 25, 2023, 4:31 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Karnataka on Monday and inaugurate an airport in Shivamogga and several other development projects, according to an official statement.

The prime minister will take a walk-through and inspect the newly built airport, after which he will inaugurate and lay the foundation of multiple projects in Shivamogga, according to the statement issued on Saturday.

Modi’s one-day tour of poll-bound Karnataka will see a series of new projects being launched in Shivamogga and Belagavi districts, including smart city projects, railways and road projects, and rural water connectivity projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission in Shivamogga and Belagavi districts. He will also release the 13th instalment of PM-KISAN.

The new airport in Shivamogga has been developed at a cost of around Rs 450 crore. The Passenger Terminal Building of the airport can handle 300 passengers per hour. The airport will improve connectivity and accessibility of Shivamogga and other neighbouring areas in the Malnad region, a government statement said.

The prime minister will lay the foundation stones of two railway projects in Shivamogga — Shivamogga-Shikaripura-Ranebennur new line and Koteganguru railway coaching depot. The new line, which will be developed at a cost of Rs 990 crore, will provide enhanced connectivity between Malnad region and Bengaluru-Mumbai mainline. The coaching depot in Shivamogga city will be developed at a cost of more than Rs 100 crore to help start new trains from Shivamogga and decongest maintenance facilities in Bengaluru and Mysuru.

PM Modi will also lay the foundation stones of multiple road development projects. The projects, which will be developed at a cumulative cost of more than Rs 215 crore, include construction of a new bypass for Shikaripura Town on NH 766C connecting Byndur-Ranibennur, widening of NH-169A from Megaravalli to Agumbe; and construction of a new bridge at Bharathipura in Thirthahally Taluk on the national highway (NH) 169.

He will inaugurate and lay the foundation of multi-village schemes worth more than Rs 950 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission, and inaugurate 44 Smart City projects worth more than Rs 895 crore in Shivamogga city.

In Belgavi, he will release the 13th instalment amount of about Rs 16,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through direct benefits transfer to more than eight crore beneficiaries.

He will dedicate to the nation the redeveloped Belagavi Railway Station, redeveloped at an approximate cost of about Rs 190 crore, and lay the foundation stones of six multi-village scheme projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission in Belagavi.

Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Karnataka before May 2023.