DREAM city project to help Surat become safest diamond trading hub: PM Modi

PM Modi said once the Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) city project is completed, Surat will emerge as the safest and convenient diamond trading hub in the world

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said once the Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) city project is completed, Surat will emerge as the safest and convenient diamond trading hub in the world.

Addressing a rally after laying the foundation stone and inaugurating a host of projects here in Gujarat, Modi said in the last 20 years Surat has progressed by leaps and bounds.

Remembering the struggle to get an airport in Surat city, Modi said they (when he was the chief minister of Gujarat) got tired in explaining the need for an airport here to the then UPA government.

Now, many people come and go from the airport here and it has helped in the city's development. This is the benefit of the double engine government, he said.

Modi said many families are dependent on the diamond and textile industries of Surat.

"Surat will emerge as the safest and convenient diamond trading hub in the world once the DREAM city project is completed," Modi said.

He also said that more than four crore people have got free medical treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme in the country, and out of these 32 lakh are from Gujarat including 1.25 lakh from Surat.