Imphal: As the saying goes Better late than never, Manipur government on Friday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Manipur on Saturday.
This will be the Prime Minister’s first visit to the state since the outbreak of ethnic violence in May 2023.
A statement issued by the chief secretary’s office issued on Friday, said the Prime Minister will arrive in Churachandpur at around 11:30 am, where he will interact with internally displaced persons (IDPs). He will also lay the foundation stone for several infrastructure projects and address a public gathering at Peace Ground.
Later in the afternoon, Modi will arrive at Kangla in Imphal around 2:00 pm. He is scheduled to interact with IDPs there as well, inaugurate a series of developmental projects, and deliver a public address, the statement read.
As per the official statement, during Churachandpur programme Modi will lay foundation stones for projects worth Rs 7,344 crore, including the Manipur Urban Roads, Drainage and Asset Management Improvement Project (Rs 3,647 crore), the Manipur Infotech Development (MIND) Project (Rs 550 crore), working women’s hostels at nine locations (Rs 142 crore), strengthening of 120 high schools across all districts (Rs 134 crore), and multiple highway upgradation works under Bharatmala Pariyojana.
Additionally, projects worth Rs 1,203 crore will be inaugurated at Kangla, Imphal. These include the new Manipur Bhawans at Dwarka, New Delhi (Rs 164 crore) and Salt Lake, Kolkata (Rs 42 crore), the new Police Headquarters at Mantripukhri (Rs 101 crore), the Civil Secretariat at Mantripukhri (Rs 538 crore), IT-SEZ Building-I (Rs 114 crore), Ima Markets at 4 locations (Tengnoupal, Noney, Pallel and Moirang (Rs 24 crore) and infrastructure development at colleges, hospitals, and administrative centres across districts.
The initiatives reflect the Prime Minister’s “continued commitment and dedication” to the development and welfare of Manipur, the state government said and appealed to the people to extend a warm welcome and participate in the programmes.
Authorities also advised residents not to bring children below 12 years, medically unfit persons, and restricted items such as bags, bottles, umbrellas, guns, sharp objects, intoxicants, etc., to the venue. Public seating at the function will remain open from 8 am to 11 am, after which entry will be closed.
