Modi in Palamu on January 5: Prime Minister to lay foundation stone for Mandal Dam project, address public rally.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Palamu in Jharkhand on January 5 where he will lay the foundation stone for the Mandal Dam project on North Koel river. This will be his second visit to Palamu in a month.

During his hour-long visit, Modi will lay the foundation stone for the project and also address a public meeting, thus virtually kicking-off the BJP’s campaign for the 2019 general elections. As per the schedule, Modi will be in Palamu between 10:30 am and 11:30 am. The rally will be organised at Chiyanki Airport Grounds.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that about 80,000 people will attend the Prime Minister’s rally. Chief Minister Raghubar Das and BJP’s Jharkhand unit president Laxman Gilua will be present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the local administration said that leaves of all government officials have been cancelled and the camp office has been set up at the venue. Palamu SP Inderjeet Mahtha said that he has personally inspected the ground and assured that all security measures will be adopted in view of Modi’s visit.

According to a report in The Indian Express, police have issued an order banning the use of black clothes by those attending the Prime Minister’s event. There are reports that contractual teachers could protest during the event to press for their demand to regularise them.

The Mandal Dam project is a very ambitious project for both Bihar and Jharkhand. Once the dam is ready, it will benefit people of Palamu, Garhwa, Latehar districts of Jharkhand and Gaya, Aurangabad districts of Bihar. The foundation stone of the dam was laid in 1970 when Karpuri Thakur was the CM of Bihar. The work on the project was expected to be over by 1989 but in 1998-99, the work was stopped after Maoists attacked the workers killing one engineer.

THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS