NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra renewed ‘naraz fufa’ jibe at Congress, saying “some can never be happy with India’s vikas” at the ‘NaMo for Viksit Bharat’ event in Vadodara on Tuesday.The PM’s received an enthusiastic welcome with organisers saying all seats for the programme were booked within an hour of online ticket sales opening.The event featured music and cultural performances, including a rendition of Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’, as the crowd welcomed the Prime Minister.Addressing the gathering, PM Modi said his visit was aimed at accelerating India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation. “I have come among you to further accelerate the journey towards a developed India,” he said.“A little while ago, the foundation stone laying and inauguration of projects worth thousands of crores of rupees related to the country’s development took place here. In this festival of development, the way all of you have run a welcome campaign with cleanliness throughout the entire city of Vadodara with a spirit of service, for this, I heartily congratulate every citizen of Vadodara from the bottom of my heart and appreciate them,” he added.PM Modi also renewed ‘naraz fufa’ jibe at Congress, saying “some can never be happy with India’s vikas.”Event draws huge responseThe ‘NaMo for Viksit Bharat Vadodara’ programme was organised as part of PM Modi’s visit to the city, where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for various development projects.Gujarat deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi said the programme had received an overwhelming response from residents. For the first time, online ticketing was introduced, with all available seats booked within 60 minutes. Demand was reportedly three times higher than the available capacity.Special fan zones were also set up to accommodate people who could not get seats inside the venue.Ahead of PM Modi’s visit, a ‘Viksit Bharat Padayatra’ was organised on Monday under Sanghavi’s leadership. The march began at the Faculty of Technology in Dandia Bazaar and passed through Kirti Stambh before concluding at Sursagar Lake.A cultural programme was also organised at Sursagar Lake, featuring singer Kailash Kher. ‘Swachhata Doots’ who contributed to keeping Vadodara clean were felicitated during the event.Rs 35,000 crore projects launchedDuring his visit, Modi inaugurated, dedicated and laid the foundation stones for development projects worth more than Rs 35,000 crore in Vadodara.A major highlight was the inauguration of three sections of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), covering 326 route kilometres and developed at a cost of more than Rs 20,700 crore.The sections connect New Sanand (North) with New Makarpura, New Umbergaon with New Saphale, and New Saphale with New JNPT in Mumbai. The connectivity to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority is expected to speed up the movement of export-import cargo, improve links between industrial centres and ports and reduce logistics costs.
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PM Modi also flagged off freight train services from the newly connected sections and a new passenger train between Tanda Road and Vadodara’s Pratapnagar.He dedicated the Jobat-Tanda Road new rail line to the nation. The line, developed as part of the Chhota Udepur-Dhar project, will connect remote and tribal areas of Alirajpur with the national railway network.The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stones for three railway projects covering 329 km at a cost of more than Rs 9,700 crore, along with three National Highway projects worth around Rs 1,780 crore.Several Gujarat government projects worth around Rs 2,600 crore were also inaugurated or launched, including housing projects under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, a water-supply project for 11 villages in eastern Vadodara, the Vadodara Urban Development Authority Ring Road Phase II and a 110 MW floating solar project at Kadana Dam.
