Hyderabad (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took apparent potshots at the ruling TRS in Telangana, saying it has 'betrayed' the people and asserted the 'Lotus will bloom' everywhere in the state.

The PM's statement comes ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections in the state, where the BJP is seeking to challenge the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS.

The political party on which Telangana had a lot of faith has betrayed the people, Modi said without naming the TRS and added signals are indicating that Lotus will bloom in the state.

Modi landed here this afternoon to dedicate to the nation a fertilizer plant at Ramagundam in the state, besides inaugurating and laying foundation stone for multiple development projects.

"In the recent times, whatever bypolls were held, the message is loud and clear that the sunrise is not far. Darkness will vanish. Lotus will bloom everywhere in Telangana," Modi said.

"The party on which the Telangana people had a lot of faith, the same party betrayed Telangana. But friends, when the darkness looms large from all four sides, Lotus will start to bloom, he said, alluding to the BJP's symbol.

"Now Telangana people want a government that works for all the families of Telangana instead of a single family," Modi said indirectly referring to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

"They want a BJP government," Modi said.

He said he could see the lotus blooming in Telangana, referring to his party's recent prospects in various bypolls. The party had won two Assembly by-polls in the last two years, besides putting up a good show in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections earlier.

Superstitions are being practiced in the city, known for its information technology presence, he said and opined that superstitions decide the governance, in what seemed to a veiled reference at the Chief Minister.

He further said the state government and its leaders here keep doing injustice to Telangana's capacity and its people's talent.

Referring to the recent Munugode bypoll, Modi said the BJP workers together forced the entire state administration to focus on a single election. The ruling party won the seat by a little over 10,000 votes.

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Mangaluru: Commuters on the National Highway 66 here are struggling with the traffic problems due to the repair work that are going on since Thursday on the old bridge across River Nethravathi near Ullal.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has permitted light motor vehicle drivers to use the new bridge on the eastern end, which is a one-way route from Mangaluru to Kerala. To ease the traffic movement on the eastern side of the bridge, the Mangaluru Traffic Police has, on a temporary basis, made it a two-way stretch.

Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, admitted that the slow movement of vehicles on the bridge is on account of the repair work and clarified that the work is expected to continue for 10 days. He also confirmed that the traffic police were regulating and temporarily allowing two-way traffic movement on the eastern side bridge to allow smooth traffic flow especially during peak hours.

The NHAI had also responded to a viral video of a pothole on the NH 66 to highlight the poor state of the roads by getting the pothole filled up. The road users had complained of car tyres bursting and the vehicles getting damaged on account of major potholes on the highway, where iron rods were also seen protruding, leading the NHAI to take action in the matter.