A MONTH before the Maha Kumbh begins in Prayagraj, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will set the ball rolling on several projects during a three-hour visit to the city on Friday.
Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 7,000 crore and will perform puja at the Sangam with representatives of 13 Akharas as well as prominent temples.
Most of the projects are related to road and corridor projects, with focus on prominent sites including Shringverpur Dham, that finds mention in the Ramayana as the “Kingdom of Nishadraj, king of fishermen”. It is believed that Lord Ram crossed the Ganga River at this place.
The PM is expected to arrive around 11 am on December 13 and will travel from Arail Ghat to Quila Ghat in a hybrid electric Catamaran vessel named after Nishadraj and was inaugurated by him (PM) earlier this year in Varanasi. Nishad community has a significant presence in over 150 Assembly constituencies of Uttar Pradesh especially in the Eastern belt of the state.
Even as the BJP is in alliance with NISHAD party in Uttar Pradesh and has given its chief Sanjay Nishad a ministerial berth, the party is making attempts to build its own leadership. Thus, the virtual inauguration of Shringverpur Dham corridor, to ensure that the pilgrims coming to Sangam can visit Shringverpur with ease and at the same time travel in the Vessel named after Nishadraj, are both seen as an attempt to woo the community.
The projects to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister include projects of Railways, airport, irrigation, road, beautification of ghats, along with the launch of “Kumbh Sahayak Chatbot”.
This year Maha Kumbh is being also promoted as “Digital Kumbh” by the Uttar Pradesh government thus in order to assist the pilgrims, a chatbot assistance has been developed, which would assist in identification of prominent places, provide maps of the area etc along with other information.
Among the road projects, some prominent corridors will also be inaugurated by the PM, such as the Shringverpur Dham Corridor worth Rs 135 crore, Bharadwaj Ashram Corridor worth Rs 13 crore, Akshayavat Corridor worth Rs 18 crore as well as Hanuman Mandir corridor worth Rs 40 crore. Along with these, the development of seven bathing ghats would also be inaugurated, which have been developed with the cost of Rs 240 crore.
