Bad weather grounds flight, Modi travels by road (Sidelights)

Inclement weather in New Delhi and Panipat Thursday forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to travel to this industrial city in Haryana by road.

Low clouds and rain forced Modi to make the 110-km journey from the heart of Delhi to Panipat by the ever-busy national highway 1, putting security agencies on their toes as the decision was taken at the last moment.

Modi was earlier supposed to land in an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter near the venue of the event to launch the "Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao" campaign.

Some of Modi's ministerial colleagues and campaign brand ambassador Madhuri Dixit Nene reached the venue before the prime minister.

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Madhuri Dixit's mother in ICU, says Modi

Modi, while pointing out the importance of the campaign to save and educate the girl child, specially pointed out that brand ambassador, actress Madhuri Dixit Nene, had come for the function despite her mother being in a hospital ICU (intensive care unit).

"Her mother is in the ICU, battling for life. But she (Madhuri) is here for this cause," Modi said.

Madhuri made a brief speech on the occasion, getting a lot of cheer from the crowd, mostly comprising women.

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Five small girls given bank documents

Five small girls were brought on to the stage to give them the kit containing passbooks and other documents for their newly-opened bank accounts.

Modi launched the 'Sukanya Samridhi Yojana' scheme, which will enable parents to open bank accounts of girls under 10 years of age.

Modi, Madhuri Dixit and union ministers Maneka Gandhi and Smriti Irani handed over the documents to the girls.

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Rain gives hard time to attendees

The campaign venue saw a sizeable gathering despite inclement weather.

The place saw rain before and even during the event. At one time, the gathering could be seen trying to cover their heads to save themselves from the rain.

The chairs, and especially sofas kept for the VIPs, were soaked with water from the rain. It gave a hard time to the gathering. Those attending could be seen looking for newspapers or plastic sheets to put them on the seats and save themselves from not getting wet.