Modi to visit Varanasi today, will flag off Mahamana Express, 17 projects

The train, on its inaugural service, will be run as a special train departing from Vadodara today and reaching Varanasi tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi on Friday for a two-day visit during which he will inaugurate several projects covering sectors like infrastructure, railways, financial inclusion and sanitation.

Among the highlights will be the flagging off of the Mahamana Express train, which will connect Varanasi with Surat and Vadodara in Gujarat.

The Prime Minister said in a series of tweets:






Mahamana Express train

The flag-off of the third Mahamana Express would be done via video conferencing at 3.30 pm Modi would be undertaking the flag-off during his two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi.

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal would be present in Vadodara in Gujarat, and Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha in Surat, the officials said.

The train, on its inaugural service, will be run as a special train departing from Vadodara on Friday and reaching Varanasi on Saturday.

The Mahamana Express, with plush interiors, currently runs on the Varanasi-New Delhi and Bhopal-Khajuraho routes.

The new weekly train will start from Varanasi every Friday and from Vadodara every Wednesday. The 1,531-km journey between the two cities will take 27 hours and 30 minutes, officials said.

The train will stop at Bharuch and Surat in Gujarat; Amalner and Bhusawal in Maharashtra; Itarsi, Jabalpur, Katni and Satna in Madhya Pradesh and Chheoki in Uttar Pradesh.

The Mahanama Express will have one AC Ist Class coach, two Second AC, eight sleeper and four general coaches, one pantry car and two guard brake vans. There is no AC-3 tier coach in the train.

The features in the Mahamana Express include ergonomically designed ladders for climbing to upper berths, snack tables for side berths, windows with powered venetian blinds and roller blinds, LED lights as berth indicators, LED reading lights, fire extinguishers in all coaches and an electrically operated chimney in the pantry car.

The train's toilets have platform washbasins, bigger mirrors, an odour control system, exhaust fans and dustbins.

Other projects 

The prime minister will unveil a plaque to mark the laying of foundation stone of the headquarters building of the Utkarsh Bank, the PMO said.

In the evening tomorrow, Modi will visit the historic Tulsi Manas Temple in Varanasi. He will also release a postal stamp on Ramayana. He will later visit the Durga Mata Temple in the city.

On Saturday, the prime minister will briefly participate in a sanitation-related activity in a village of Shahanshahpur.

He will distribute certificates to beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural & Urban) and address a gathering on the occasion.

Modi will inaugurate nearly 17 infrastructure projects, including the Ramnagar-Samne Ghat bridge and the Balua Ghat bridge, and lay the foundation of nearly six projects including Ramna Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), said Sanjay Bhardwaj, the BJP's eastern Uttar Pradesh media in- charge.

The prime minister will dedicate to the nation a community kitchen ('Annakshetra') near the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple, Varanasi Divisional Commissioner Nitin Ramesh Gokarn said.

On September 23, Modi will inaugurate 'Pashu Arogya Mela' in Shahanshahpur on the outskirts of the city.

He will also address a gathering of farmers there.

He will also distribute loan waiver certificates to some farmers, whose loans have been waived by the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government.

According to the Union Water Resources Ministry, the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is "a major step forward in realising the dream of Nirmal Ganga under Namami Gange programme."

In a statement, it said the STP with 50 million litre daily-capacity will be the first plant to be developed under hybrid annuity-public private partnership model.

Under this model, the development, operation and maintenance of the STP will be undertaken by a special purpose vehicle at the local level.

Forty per cent of the capital cost would be paid during construction while the remaining 60 per cent of the cost will be paid over the life of the project as annuities along with operation and maintenance cost expenses for the next 15 years, the water resources ministry said.

The work to construct, operate and maintain the 50 MLD STP in Varanasi has been awarded to a consortium led by Essel Infra Projects Limited at an estimated cost of Rs 153.16 crore.