'With Blessings Of Sai Baba....': PM Modi On Laying Foundation Of Projects Worth 7500 Crore

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday ceremoniously launched and initiated the groundwork for numerous development initiatives spanning various sectors, with a combined value of approximately Rs 7,500 crore in Maharashtra. Addressing the public meeting in Ahmednagar, PM Modi commenced his speech in Marathi and paid respect to the holy shrine of Shirdi.

Adressing the public PM Modi said, "Today, with the divine blessings of Sai Baba, we have laid and inaugurated the foundation stone for development projects valued at Rs 7,500 crores. Additionally, the long-awaited Nilwande Dam, a five-decade aspiration for Maharashtra, has been successfully completed. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to perform the 'Jal Poojan' at this momentous occasion."

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi says "Today, with the blessings of Sai Baba, the foundation stone of development works worth Rs 7,500 crores has been laid and inaugurated. The work of Nilwande Dam, which Maharashtra has been waiting for for 5 decades, has also been… pic.twitter.com/8CDGevG3R5 — ANI (@ANI) October 26, 2023

Meanwhile, earlier, PM Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar paid floral tributes to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, in Shirdi. PM Modi inaugurated the new Darshan Queue complex at Shirdi. It is a state-of-the-art modern mega building envisaged to provide comfortable waiting areas for the devotees.

It is equipped with several waiting halls with a cumulative seating capacity of more than ten thousand devotees. It has the provision of air-conditioned public amenities like cloakrooms, toilets, booking counters, prasad counters, information centre etc. The foundation stone of this new Darshan Queue Complex was laid by the Prime Minister in October 2018, the Prime Minister's Office stated.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the left bank (85km) canal network of the Nilwande Dam. It will benefit 182 villages from 7 Tehsils (6 in Ahmednagar district and 1 from Nashik district) by facilitating pipe distribution networks of water. The idea of Nilwande Dam was first conceived in 1970. It is being developed at a cost of about Rs 5177 crore, it stated.

During the public programme, the Prime Minister also launched the 'Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana'. The Yojna will benefit more than 86 lakh beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana in Maharashtra, by providing an additional amount of Rs 6000 per year to them.

The PM also inaugurated and dedicated to the nation multiple development projects including Ayush Hospital at Ahmednagar Civil Hospital; Electrification of Kurduwadi-Latur Road railway section (186 Km); 3rd and 4th railway line connecting Jalgaon to Bhusaval (24.46 km); four laning of Sangli to Borgaon section of NH-166 (Package-I); Additional facilities at Manmad Terminal of Indian Oil corporation Limited. Moreover, the PM laid the foundation stone of the Maternal and Child Health Wing at Ahmednagar Civil Hospital.