Modi in Chhattisgarh Live Updates: PM  Modi reiterates promise of housing for all by 2022.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a series of developmental projects including an airport in Jharsuguda of Odisha during his visit to the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a series of development projects including an airport in Jharsuguda of Odisha during his visit to the state. Inaugurating a new airport at Jharsuguda, he said that it will attract investors to the mineral-rich area and will act as a lifeline in the western region of the state. The PM also laid the foundation stone for a Rs 13,000 crore-project to revive the Talcher fertiliser plant. He exuded confidence that the plant will begin production in the stipulated 36 months. The fertiliser plant will for the first time see coal being converted into gas for use as feedstock and for producing neem-coated urea.

He also inaugurated the Garjanbahal open cast mine of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), which has coal block reserves of 230 million tonne with an annual production capacity of 13 million tonne. It will generate direct employment opportunity for 894 people and indirect job opportunities for 5,000.The PM also launched the 53.1-km long Jharsuguda-Serdega railway line constructed by the MCL. Modi also dedicated to the nation Dulanga Coal Mining Project of NTPC in Sundargarh district. This is the second mine of the state-run company to be operational and its first in Odisha.

From here, the PM left for neighbouring poll-bound Chhattisgarh where he laid the foundation stone for several development projects. Addressing a public meeting in Janjgir-Champa, he virtually kicked off the election campaign for the BJP saying “people of the state are mature enough to elect a stable government”. He said that the only objective of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Chhattisgarh were the welfare of the poor and the common people.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Odisha and poll-bound Chhattisgarh today. He will launch several projects in both states, his office has said.

He will unveil a plaque to mark the commencement of work for the revival of Talcher fertilizer plant in Odisha. This is the first plant in India to have a coal gasification based fertilizer unit. In addition to fertilizer, the plant will produce natural gas, which will contribute to the country’s energy requirements, the statement said.

PM Modi will then travel to Jharsuguda to inaugurate an airport there. It will bring western Odisha on the aviation map of India, and facilitate regional air connectivity through the UDAN scheme, it said.

The prime minister will dedicate the Garjanbahal coal mines, and the Jharsuguda-Barapali-Sardega rail link to the nation. He will also unveil a plaque to mark the commencement of coal production and transportation from Dulanga coal mines.

He will then arrive in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district at around 3:20 pm, where he will visit an exhibition on traditional handloom and agriculture. He will lay the foundation stone for national highway projects and the Pendra-Anuppur third railway line.

The prime minister will also address a Kisan Sammelan between 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm.

“The PM will lay foundation stone for the Rs. 1697.79 crore Bilaspur-Anuppur Third Rail Track Project in Bilaspur-Anuppur section of South East Central Railway. The 152 km rail route runs for 119.55 km in Chhattisgarh and 32.45 km in Madhya Pradesh,” an official said.

This track will not only ease passenger services but also augment coal transportation of SECL for its mines in Raigarh and Mand areas, the official added.

Chief Minister Raman Singh, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo Sai will be present on the occasion.

The chief minister extended his gratitude to the prime minister for the visit and said it was his sixth visit to the state in four years, a measure of the priority he gave to development of the state.

The prime minister will depart from Janjgir-Champa by helicopter at 4:50 pm and land at Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur at 5:40 pm. He will then proceed to New Delhi at 5:45 pm,  the official informed.