PM to inaugurate projects, address rally in Singur on second day of Bengal visit
Kolkata (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will resume his two-day visit to West Bengal on Sunday, making a fresh poll pitch from the site of the abandoned Tata Nano car plant in Singur, amid a highly charged political atmosphere in the state ahead of the crucial assembly elections.
On his return to the state after an overnight stay in Assam, Modi is scheduled to inaugurate, lay the foundation stone and flag off various development projects worth over Rs 830 crore at Singur in Hooghly district, besides addressing a rally, where he is expected to sharpen the party’s narrative on industrialisation in Bengal.
The selection of Singur, observers feel, was made on account of its symbolic importance, where a violent anti-land grab movement nearly two decades ago spearheaded by Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, then in the opposition, against the erstwhile Left Front government, had forced Ratan Tata to pull the plug on the project and relocate it to Gujarat.
The BJP has promised to "bring the Tatas back to Singur" if voted to power, projecting the exit of the car project as a missed economic opportunity and a symbol of industrial stagnation under the TMC.
BJP leaders in Bengal hope Modi's Singur address will outline a broader vision for attracting big-ticket investments in Bengal, leveraging the enduring perception that the state has remained industry-starved since Tata Motors pulled out.
During the day, the PM is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the Extended Port Gate System at Balagarh, aimed at boosting inland water transport and regional connectivity.
“The Balagarh project aims to significantly improve cargo evacuation efficiency by diverting heavy cargo movement away from congested urban corridors. This will enhance road safety, reduce vehicular congestion and pollution in Kolkata city, and contribute to an improved quality of life for residents,” a note from the PMO stated.
To support urban river mobility, eco-tourism and last-mile passenger connectivity along the Hooghly River, Modi will launch a state-of-the-art 50-passenger electric catamaran in Kolkata, which is one of the six such vessels indigenously built for inland water transport by the Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
The Prime Minister will also flag off three Amrit Bharat trains from Singur, connecting Kolkata to Delhi, Banaras and Chennai, strengthening the rail connectivity of West Bengal with other states.
On Saturday, Modi launched a slew of rail and road infrastructure projects for the state from Malda, and flagged off the first set of Vande Bharat sleeper trains between Howrah and Guwahati.
Addressing a public rally from the same venue, he made infiltration the central plank of his offensive against the TMC government, alleging that large-scale illegal migration has altered the state's demography, fuelled riots, and thrived due to the ruling party's "patronage and syndicate raj".
The elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly are due in the next few months.
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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".
