Narendra Modi flagged off Chennai-Mysuru Vande Bharat Express at Kranthiveera Sangoli Rayanna (KSR) Railway station in Bengaluru.
Before this, four more Vande Bharat Express trains are already running in the country. This is first such train in South India. The PMO said, “It will enhance connectivity between the industrial hub of Chennai and the Tech and Startup hub of Bengaluru and the famous tourist city of Mysuru.”
Under the Bharat Gaurav scheme, in which the government of Karnataka and the ministry of railways collaborate to convey pilgrims from Karnataka to Kashi, Karnataka is the first state to board this train.
The PMO stated that pilgrims would be given a pleasant place to stay and directions for visiting Kashi, Ayodhya, and Prayagraj.
At Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, the prime minister presented floral tributes to the statues of the saint poet Kanakadasa and Maharshi Valmiki.
PM Modi will later open Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport at roughly 11:30 a.m. He would next unveil the 108-foot bronze monument of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda at around midday, followed by a public event in Bengaluru at around 12:30 am. PM Modi will attend the 36th Gandhigram Rural Institute Convocation ceremony in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, at roughly 3:30 pm.
The Terminal 2 of Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, which was constructed for almost Rs 5,000 crore, will be officially opened by the prime minister. According to the PMO, the terminal will more than treble the airport’s present capacity of 2.5 crore passengers annually to 5-6 crore passengers annually.
“The Airport has already established a benchmark in sustainability with 100 per cent usage of renewable energy across the campus. Terminal 2 has been created with sustainability principles woven into the design. Based on the sustainability initiatives, Terminal 2 will be the largest terminal in the world to be pre-certified platinum rating by US GBC (green building council) prior to commencing operations. The theme of ‘Naurasa’ unites all the commissioned artworks for Terminal 2. The artworks reflect the heritage and culture of Karnataka as well as the broader Indian ethos,” the PMO said.
“Conceptualized and sculpted by Ram V Sutar of Statue of Unity fame, 98 tonnes of bronze and 120 tonnes of steel have gone into making this statue,” PMO said.