Gujarat: PM Modi inaugurates key development projects worth over Rs 4,150 cr in Dwarka

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects in Dwarka, Gujarat, amounting to over Rs 4150 crore. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel honoured him with a miniature of the Dwarkadhish temple.

The projects include a pipeline project at Vadinar that entails the replacement of existing offshore lines and a relocation of the entire system. In addition, Modi is set to inaugurate and lay the foundation for 200 healthcare infrastructure projects across 23 states and Union territories, valued at over Rs 11,500 crore.

PM Modi said, "We have seen those days when the people of Saurashtra struggled for a drop of water... When I used to say that waters of rivers that have water for the whole year, would be brought to Saurashtra and Kutch, Congress ridiculed me. But today, Sauni (Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation) Yojana has changed the fate of Saurashtra. More than 1300 km of pipeline has been spread, which is wide enough to pass a car through it... Hundreds of villages now have access to water..." 

Five All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rajkot, Bathinda, Raebareli, Kalyani, and Mangalagiri are also scheduled for inauguration. Other health projects include the inauguration of a JIPMER medical college in Karaikal, Puducherry, and a 300-bed satellite centre of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical and Educational Research (PGIMER) in Sangrur, Punjab. 

Earlier, the prime minister inaugurated the 'Sudarshan Setu', a 2.32 km-long cable-stayed bridge connecting Okha mainland and Beyt Dwarka island, costing around Rs 980 crore. The bridge, the longest of its kind in the country, features a footpath with Bhagavad Gita verses and Lord Krishna images, and solar panels that generate one megawatt of electricity. 

Before the bridge, pilgrims had to use boat transport to reach Beyt Dwarka. Modi's two-day Gujarat visit began with a roadshow in Jamnagar on Saturday.