PM inaugurates rail projects worth Rs 6,350 cr in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'critical care blocks' in nine districts of the state and distributed 100,000 sickle cell counselling cards

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated several rail sector projects in Raigarh in Chhattisgarh during his one-day visit to the state.

PM Modi laid the foundation stone of "critical care blocks" in nine districts of the state, namely Durg, Kondagaon, Rajnandgaon, Gariaband, Jashpur, Surajpur, Surguja, Bastar, and Raigarh. Following this, the prime minister distributed 100,000 sickle cell counselling cards.

During the event, PM Modi said that recently, during the G20 Summit in New Delhi, many leaders visited India and were left impressed by development in India.

The prime minister said, "Every state and region in the state is getting equal importance in development... Chhattisgarh is like the powerhouse for development in the country. In the last nine years, we worked for the multidimensional development of Chhattisgarh. Today, a new chapter is being written in the development of railways in the state...."

Talking about the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 on the moon's South Pole, PM Modi said, " There is a festive atmosphere in the entire country these days. Bharat ka Chandrayaan wahan pahucha hai jahan koi desh nahi pahuch paya tha (India's Chandrayaan has reached where no other nation has been able to land). G20 was also conducted successfully here. This is the result of the hard work of 1,400 million Indians."

During the event, T S Singh Deo, Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, said that due to efforts by the Centre, one out of 10 people in Chhattisgarh have sickle cells. "In my experience, I have never seen any biases (from the Central government). If we (state government) have worked in the state and have asked for anything, they (Centre) have never refused to provide it."

The rail projects inaugurated by PM Modi include Chhattisgarh East Rail Project Phase-I, a third rail line between Champa and Jamga, a third rail line between Pendra Road to Anuppur, and MGR (merry-go-round) system connecting the Talaipalli Coal Mine to NTPC Lara Super Thermal Power Station (STPS).

The nine critical care blocks will be built under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) for Rs 210 crore.

During the event in Raigarh, PM Modi also held a roadshow.