The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for several crucial infrastructure development projects in Telangana worth around Rs 6,100 crores in Warangal, Telangana today. The development works include 176 km long National Highway Projects worth over Rs 5,550 crores and a Railway Manufacturing Unit in Kazipet to be developed at a cost of over Rs 500 crores. The Prime Minister also performed darshan and pooja at Bhadrakali Temple.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister remarked that even though Telangana is a relatively new state and has completed only 9 years of its existence, the contributions of Telangana and its people have been very significant in the history of India. “The capabilities of Telugu people have always enhanced the capabilities of India”, he said. The Prime Minister highlighted the significant role of the citizens of Telangana in making India the 5th largest economy in the world and expressed confidence in the growth in opportunities as the world looks towards India as an investment destination. “There is a lot of anticipation for Viksit Bharat”, he added.
“The new youthful India of today is brimming with energy”, the Prime Minister said as he acknowledged the advent of a golden period in the third decade of the 21st century and urged everyone to make full use of this period. Stressing that no part of India should be left behind in terms of fast-paced development, the Prime Minister highlighted the emphasis on improving Telangana’s infrastructure and connectivity in the last 9 years. He congratulated the people of Telangana for the projects of today that are worth more than 6,000 crores.
The Prime Minister stressed the need to find new ways to achieve new goals as he pointed out that fast-paced development in India is impossible with obsolete infrastructure. Noting that poor connectivity and expensive logistic costs hinder the progress of businesses, the Prime Minister highlighted the multifold increase in the speed and scale of development by the Government. He gave examples of highways, expressways, economic corridors and industrial corridors which are creating a network and said the two-lane and four-lane highways are being converted to four and six-lane highways respectively. The Prime Minister informed that the highway network of Telangana has seen a two-fold rise from 2500 km to 5000 km. He also mentioned that the construction of 2500 km of national highways is under different stages of development. He also informed that the dozens of corridors that are under construction as part of the Bharatmala Project pass through Telangana and gave examples of Hyderabad – Indore Economic Corridor, Chennai – Surat Economic Corridor, Hyderabad – Panji Economic Corridor and Hyderabad – Visakhapatnam Inter Corridor. In a way, the Prime Minister continued, Telangana is connecting the surrounding economic centers and becoming a hub of economic activity.
Speaking about the Mancherial – Warangal section of Nagpur – Vijayawada Corridor whose foundation stone is laid today, the Prime Minister said that it will provide modern connectivity to Telangana with Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh while also reducing the distance between Mancherial and Warangal and put an end to traffic woes. “The region is home to many tribal communities and has been neglected for a long time”, he interjected. Shri Modi said that this corridor will give vision to multimodal connectivity in the state and the four-laning of the Karimnagar-Warangal section will strengthen connectivity to the Hyderabad-Warangal Industrial Corridor, Kakatiya Mega Textile Park and Warangal SEZ.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the increased connectivity in Telangana is directly benefiting the industry and tourism of the state as traveling to heritage centers and places of faith in Telangana is now becoming more convenient. He also mentioned the agricultural industry and the granite industry of Karimnagar and said that the efforts of the Government are directly assisting them. “Be it farmers or laborers, students or professionals, everyone is getting benefited. The youth are also getting new employment and self-employment opportunities near their homes”, he added.
Throwing light on the Make in India campaign and how the manufacturing sector is becoming a huge source of employment for the youth in the country, the Prime Minister mentioned the PLI scheme to encourage manufacturing in the country. “Those who are manufacturing more are getting special assistance from the Government”, Shri Modi said he informed about more than 50 big projects being implemented in Telangana under this scheme. The Prime Minister also touched upon India creating a new record in defence exports this year. He informed that India’s defence export which was around Rs 1000 crores 9 years ago, has crossed Rs 16,000 crores today. He mentioned Bharat Dynamics Limited based in Hyderabad and said that it is also reaping the benefits.
The Prime Minister also touched upon Indian Railways setting new records and new milestones in terms of manufacturing. He highlighted the buzz around ‘Made in India’ Vande Bharat trains and said that Indian Railways has manufactured thousands of modern coaches and locomotives over the years. Referring to the Railway Manufacturing Unit, Kazipet whose foundation stone is laid today, the Prime Minister said that it is a rejuvenation of Indian Railways and Kazipet will become part of the new energy of Make in India. Due to this, the Prime Minister said, new employment opportunities will be created in this area and every family will be benefited in one way or the other. Concluding the address, the Prime Minister said, “This is Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” as he urged to take Telangana forward on this mantra of development.
Governor of Telangana, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Tourism, Shri G Kishan Reddy and Member of Parliament, Shri Sanjay Bandi among others were present on the occasion.
Background
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for 176 km long National Highway projects worth over Rs 5,550 crores. The projects include 108 km long Mancherial – Warangal section of Nagpur – Vijayawada Corridor. The section will reduce the distance between Mancherial and Warangal by around 34 km, thus reducing travel time and decongesting traffic on NH-44 and NH-65. He also laid the foundation stone for the upgradation of the 68 km long Karimnagar – Warangal section of NH-563 from the existing two-lane to a four-lane configuration. This will help in improving connectivity to Hyderabad-Warangal Industrial Corridor, Kakatiya Mega Textile Park and SEZ at Warangal.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Railway Manufacturing Unit, Kazipet. To be developed at a cost of over Rs 500 crores, the modern manufacturing unit will have enhanced Rolling Stock manufacturing capacity. It will be equipped with the latest technology standards and facilities such as Robotic Painting of Wagons, State-of-the-art Machinery and a Plant with modern material storage and handling. It will help in local employment generation and the development of ancillary units in nearby areas.