Those wearing 'hawai chappals' should travel in 'hawai jahaz', says PM Modi
Shivamogga (Karnataka) (PTI): "Those wearing 'hawai chappals' should travel in 'hawai jahaz' (aircraft). I'm seeing it happening", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he highlighted that India's aviation market is growing rapidly.
Speaking at a public meeting after inaugurating the Shivamogga airport, he said in the coming days India will need thousands of aircraft, and the days of Made-in-India passenger aircraft are not far.
Modi also took a dig at the Congress, saying before 2014 Air-India was often discussed for negative reasons, and the company was recognised for scams during that party's rule. The inauguration of the airport coincided with the 80th birthday of Karnataka BJP strongman and four-time Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who hails from Shivamogga district.
Modi asked people to switch on their mobile flash lights to commemorate Yediyurappa's birthday.
Karnataka has made up its mind to repeatedly give opportunity to "double engine" government, he said. This is Modi's fifth visit this year to the State, where Assembly elections are due by May.
The new airport has been developed at a cost of around Rs 450 crore. The passenger terminal building of the airport can handle 300 passengers per hour.
The airport is expected to improve connectivity and accessibility from Shivamogga and other neighbouring areas in the Malnad region of Karnataka, officials said In all, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 3,600 crore here.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Yediyurappa were among those present on the occasion.
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Ajit Pawar rues Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka still not part of Maharashtra
Mumbai, May 1 (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said even 65 years after the formation of Maharashtra, there is one regret - that Belgaum and Karwar, parts of adjoining Karnataka, were still not merged with the western Marathi-speaking state.
Speaking at a party event organised on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, Pawar, who heads the ruling NCP, asserted his outfit will not abandon the ideology of legendary social reformers Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and B R Ambedkar.
Recalling the work of chief ministers of Maharashtra from the first CM Yashwantrao Chavan to the incumbent Devendra Fadnavis, Pawar said each one of them have contributed to development of the state since its formation in 1960.
"Maharashtra was formed out of struggle. Even if Maharashtra has completed 65 years of its existence, here is one regret in our hearts. Even today, the Marathi manoos (Marathi-speaking people) of Belgaum and Karwar are still not with us. The case is going on in the Supreme Court.
"The day they are merged with Maharashtra, we can confidently said Maharashtra is now complete," he said.
Maharashtra has been demanding that Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka -- Belgaum, Karwar, Nipani -- be merged with the state, a stand strongly opposed by the southern state.
Pawar noted India's population in 1947 was 35 crore, but it has now multiplied four times to 140 crore. The population of the state has also increased accordingly, he said.
He emphasised that those in power now and in the past have been working to address the water woes of Maharashtra, but with a growing population, the sources have become limited.
The deputy CM said some people oppose the bullet train project in India, but China and Japan have progressed because of such high-speed transport modes.
The erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government (November 2019-June 2022) had stopped the bullet train project connecting Mumbai to Ahmedabad which is currently under construction.
