PM Modi asks states to speed up Bengaluru Suburban Rail, Telangana lift irrigation projects
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reviewed the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project in Karnataka and the J Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme in Telangana and asked the states to speed up execution of the long-pending projects.
According to a report published by News18 on Friday, the review took place during a PRAGATI meeting held on December 31, 2025.
The Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project has been on the discussion table for four decades. It was finally sanctioned in 2020 and was targeted for completion in 2023 but is still far from complete.
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The project spans about 148 km across four corridors and is aimed at improving connectivity between the city, its suburbs and Kempegowda International Airport. The project is expected to cater to about 10 lakh commuters daily.
The cost of the project has gone up by nearly ₹1,020 crore, rising from ₹15,767 crore to ₹16,876 crore. PM Modi had laid the foundation stone of the project in 2023 with a 40-month deadline for completion.
The J Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme in Telangana was conceived in 2001 during the tenure of then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in undivided Andhra Pradesh. The project is designed to irrigate about 5.57 lakh acres across Warangal, Karimnagar and Nalgonda districts and is among the largest lift irrigation schemes in Asia. It is targeted for completion by 2027.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
