PM visiting Karnataka on Sunday

Bengaluru, Oct 28 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a day-long visit to Karnataka on Sunday for participating in various functions in Ujire, Bengaluru and Bidar, said an official on Saturday.

"The Prime Minister has a busy day, as he is scheduled to participate in seven-eight functions at three places across the state," an official coordinating Modi's programmes told IANS here.

Flying into Mangaluru from New Delhi, Modi will reach Dharmastahla in Dakshina Kannada district in a helicopter and offer prayers to Hindu god Shiva at the Manjunatheshwara temple, 100km away from the port city.

"Modi will address a public rally at Ujire, a small town near the west coast, near Dharmasthala and hand over RuPay cards to some of the 12-lakh Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) account holders," said the official.

The Prime Minister will also launch the digitised cashless Self-Help Groups (SHG) transactions in the state Charitable trust of the Sree Kshetra Dharmastala Rural Development project is organising the public function and the launch of the Rupay cards and SHG transactions at the rally.

"Our volunteers have helped over a million members of the SHG across the state in opening the PMJDY accounts in the banks," said Project Executive Director L.H. Manjunath from the Dharmasthala temple town.

A few of the beneficiaries will transact on the RuPay cards in the portable mini ATMs at the event in the presence of Modi and other dignitaries.

"The Prime Minister will also launch a campaign to 'Preserve Mother Earth and Transfer to the Next Generation' of the trust.

Post-launch, Modi will fly to Bengaluru to attend a public function organised by the Vedanta Bharati at the Palace grounds in the city centre.

"A mass recitation of the Soundarya Lahari hymn of Adi Shankaracharya will be held at the event in the Prime Minister's presence," added the official.

Later, Modi will dedicate the 110km Bidar-Kalaburgi railway track in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region that would reduce distance between Bengaluru and New Delhi by 380km and travel time by six to eight hours.

The new track will also provide direct rail connectivity from Bengaluru to Bidar in the state's northern region, about 690km away from the state capital.

Though foundation for the project was laid over two decades ago in 1996, its construction work began only in 2000 and dragged on for years due to meagre fund allocation by the Railway Ministry.

This escalated its cost to a whopping Rs 1,542 crore from the original estimate of Rs 370 crore. Land acquisition between the towns also delayed its completion.