Modi to visit Varanasi on Sunday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday visit his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi and launch a scheme aimed at strengthening power transmission in urban areas.

Officials said Modi will first visit Jharkhand and lay the foundation stone of an agriculture research centre in Barhi area of Hazaribagh district.

Modi will visit Varanasi in the afternoon and launch the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), a programme of the power ministry aimed at strengthening transmission and distribution networks in the urban areas.

IPDS is part of a ministry initiative to supply uninterrupted power to the people, officials said.

They said that IPDS was announced in the 2014-15 budget and aims at strengthening the sub-transmission network, metering, information technology application and customer care services.

The central government was committed to provide budgetary support of Rs.45,800 crore for IPDS, they said.

An amount of Rs 1,067 crore has been sanctioned under IPDS for Uttar Pradesh of which Rs 572 crore is for Varanasi.

The project envisages converting overhead lines into underground cables in the areas around the temples and ghats in Varanasi city.

The scheme includes upgrading electrical assets at sub-centres, capacity enhancement and renewal of the old sub-stations.

It also includes installing roof-top solar panels in government buildings.

During his visit to Varanasi, Modi will review the progress of work on four-laning the ring road in the city and will also inaugurate a trauma centre at Banaras Hindu University. He will also address a public rally.