Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday inaugurated India’s longest sea bridge Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and used the occasion to make a big infrastructure pitch to voters ahead of this year’s Lok Sabha election.
At the inauguration, Modi spoke about how projects like the MTHL, named as the Atal Setu after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, are the makings of a “new India” and named a slew of other mega projects across the country in the same breath.
He also used the occasion to launch his campaign in Maharashtra, praising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar for developing infrastructure projects in the state.
Modi further slammed the former Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government in Maharashtra for taking a decade to build the Bandra Worli Sea Link, that’s much shorter than the MTHL
Apart from the projects for Munbai and Maharashtra, Modi also highlighted various big-ticket projects that his government has undertaken in the country — Bullet train project, Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Chenab Bridge, Vande Bharat Express, among others.
“This is not just about the inauguration, or bhoomi pujan that we do. For us, it is about these structures creating a new India,” Modi said.
The prime minister had laid the foundation stone of the MTHL in December 2016 when Fadnavis was the CM. The 22-km-long twin-carriageway bridge connects Mumbai’s Sewri area to Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai.
In Mumbai, along with MTHL, Modi also took part in groundbreaking and inauguration ceremonies of projects worth Rs 33,000 crore. These projects include Orange Gate to Marine Drive underground tunnel, Namo Mahila Sakshktikaran Yojana along with state’s Narishakti Doot app.
“Our government has taken special care of women. Double engine sarkar in any state is looking after women and today’s schemes are a part of it,” Modi said.
He also spoke about the upcoming projects such as Navi Mumbai International airport, Delhi-Mumbai economic corridor, and coastal road.
Earlier projects would never be completed or keep getting delayed, Modi said. “Be it Uran-Kharkopar railway, or Navi Mumbai metro projects, or even Atal Setu whose planning started decades ago, our double engine sarkar completed it. This was their (opposition parties) way of working, but we are fortunate to complete these big-ticket projects,” he added.
नाशिकच्या लोकांनी माझे प्रेमाने स्वागत केले, त्याबद्दल मी त्यांचे आभार मानतो. pic.twitter.com/RRdhAXHObB
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2024
Earlier in the day, Modi also visited Nashik where he did a road show along with CM Shinde and both deputy CMs. He also visited Kalaram temple and did puja. The prime minister then participated in a youth festival and addressed the people there.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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