Six-day RSS meet in Varanasi begins on Sunday, Ram temple high on agenda

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday will visit Varanasi, a day ahead of PM Narendra Modi's visit to his constituency.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will be holding a six-day meeting in Varanasi from November 11 to November 16. Bhagwat will be in Koirajpur to discuss the ideology and nationalism with the RSS workers. The issues of Ram Temple and Lok Sabha will also be discussed. RSS workers alonwith senior officials of RSS will be attending the meet. 

PM Modi is also scheduled to visit Varanasi on November 12, but this will be for the first time when Modi and Bhagwat will be in Varanasi together. However, it is not cleared but it is expected that the RSS chief and PM Modi might meet in Varanasi for a short while. 

Th prime minister will dedicate two important national highways in Uttar Pradesh`s Varanasi on November 12. The total length of the highways is 34 kilometres and is constructed at a cost of over Rs 1,500 crore.

The two projects will reduce travel time in the area and will also provide easier and more convenient access to Sarnath, which is an important site for Buddhist pilgrimage.

PM Modi will also dedicate an inland waterways terminal to the nation on river Ganga in Varanasi. This will be the first of the four multi-modal terminals on River Ganga, which is a part of the World Bank-aided Jal Marg Vikas project of the Inland Waterways Authority of India. The multimodal terminals aim to develop the stretch of River Ganga between Varanasi to Haldi for navigation of large vessels up to 1500-2000 tonnes weight, with an objective to promote inland waterways as a cheaper and more environment-friendly means of transport.

The estimated cost of this project is Rs 5,369.18 crores on a 50:50 sharing basis between the Indian government and the World Bank. Apart from this, he will also receive India's First Container Cargo being transported on an Inland Waterway.

Operation, management and further development of the multimodal terminal is proposed to be entrusted to an operator on Public-private partnership (PPP) model. Selection of the PPP operator through an International Competitive Bidding is at an advanced stage and expected to be completed by December 2018.

Prime Minister will also receive India`s first container vessel that sailed from Kolkata, carrying cargo of PEPSICO (India).The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) vessel, MV Rabindranath Tagore is transporting 16 containers and it will make its return journey with fertilizers from IFFCO.