PM Modi reaches Jammu to inaugurate various projects, address rally

JAMMU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reached the winter capital Jammu to launch multiple development projects, including those related to education, railway, aviation and road sectors, worth over Rs 32,000 crore.

Amid heightened security arrangements, Modi was received at the Jammu technical airport by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Union minister Jitendra Singh and prominent BJP leaders including J&K unit president Ravinder Raina, officials said. Director General of Police R R Swain was also present.

The officials said the prime minister immediately left for the Maulana Azad Stadium, the venue for his programme including a public meeting, in Jammu.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Modi will also distribute appointment letters to about 1,500 newly recruited government employees of Jammu and Kashmir and interact with beneficiaries of various schemes as part of the 'Viksit Bharat, Viksit Jammu' programme.

''A big boost to all-round development! I look forward to being in Jammu tomorrow, 20th February to inaugurate key development works which will boost 'Ease of Living.' It will also be a landmark day for the education sector as various institutions including IITs and IIMs will get permanent campuses,'' Modi wrote on X Monday evening.

People in large numbers from across Jammu and Kashmir have thronged the Maulana Azad Stadium to listen to the prime minister.

Former deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig, who returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in January, has also reached the venue.

Though the skies remained cloudy, there was no downpour in the city after intermittent rains for the past two days, brightening the chances of massive participation in the rally.

The weather office has predicted widespread light to moderate rain at most places in Jammu plains for the day followed by isolated rains till February 25, except February 23.