Modi's special package for Bihar on August 18: Union minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce a special package for Bihar on Tuesday during his visit to the state, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

"Wait for August 18; it will be an important day for Bihar when the prime minister will announce a special package for the state," Pradhan told the media here.

"Modi has promised a special package of more than Rs.50,000 crore to Bihar for its development," the union minister said.

Pradhan said Modi would fulfil the promises he made during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign and at a rally in Patna in 2013.

According to Pradhan, Modi will formally announce a special package for Bihar either at Ara or Saharsa.

Modi will also lay the foundation stone of a four-lane road connecting Patna and Buxar in Ara, the district headquarters of Bhojpur, about 60 km from here, before addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party rally in Saharsa district in flood-prone Kosi region.

Modi has already addressed two election rallies in Muzaffarpur and Gaya ahead of the Bihar assembly polls.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has repeatedly demanded a special category status for Bihar and said anything less won't help it develop.