PM Modi expected to arrive in Gujarat on May 26; prep in full swing

Officials of both Dahod and Kutch district administrations confirmed that preparations were underway for the Prime Minister’s visit, scheduled for May 26. He will address public gatherings at both Bhuj and Dahod.

The Dahod district administration held a high-level meeting to prepare for the PM’s visit, in coordination with the railways, as the inauguration of the workshop — which will produce 9,000-horsepower high-speed freight engines — is a significant event.

The foundation stone for the Rs 20,000 crore workshop had been laid by PM Modi in April 2022.

Earlier, in March this year, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also visited the Locomotive Rolling Stock Workshop, where he inspected the simulator at the workshop as well as the newly developed prototype of the 9,000 HP WAG locomotive. Vaishnaw had said that the prototype loco is ready and the trials are underway. “The locomotive is 89% a Make-in-India project and is equipped with advanced features including KAVACH technology. Within the next three years, the locos will start being exported and it will make Dahod a global name across the world,” he had said.

While the details of the PM’s visit to Bhuj are yet to be confirmed, he is expected to visit the shrine of Goddess Ashapura and Mata no Madh. Officials of the Kutch district administration said that they had been instructed to make arrangements for a likely visit of the Prime Minister to the Bhuj Air Force base following Operation Sindoor.

On Monday, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Primary, Secondary and Adult Education, and Higher Education Praful Pansheriya, who is in charge of Kutch district, visited the site where preparations are underway to erect a dome for the public gathering. Pansheriya was accompanied by Kutch BJP MP Vinod Chavda while taking stock of the preparations.

Pansheriya held a meeting with officials of the district administration of Kutch to be apprised of the arrangements, he said on X.