Understanding fully well what would make the people of Tamilnadu happy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his fourth visit to the State in a month Wednesday, made a slew of announcements besides inaugurating and laying foundation stone for a string of projects. Though this is being criticised as a poll gimmick by the Opposition, there is no denial that these were not done by the same parties, which are now crying foul, when they were in power in both at the Centre and State for many years. Modi, who unveiled a slew of infrastructure development schemes, including road, railways and energy sector projects in Tamilnadu to the tune of more than Rs 5,010 crore, announced that the Centre has decided to rename the Chennai Central Railway Station after former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran.Asserting that the Centre would come to the aid of Tamils whenever they were in difficulty in any part of the world, the PM recalled the steps taken by the government to secure the release of Tamils from West Asia, fishermen from Sri Lanka and prisoners from Saudi Arabia. He said the bond of humanity is bigger than all bonds and added: ‘Whenever a Tamil person is in difficulty anywhere in the world, the Central government will help.” Speaking on the importance of fulfilling regional aspirations for nation’s progress, Modi said steps would be taken to make announcements in Tamil in flights flying in and out of Tamilnadu.
The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation the much-awaited Rs 5,150 crore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Ennore. He also laid the foundation stone for the four-laning of Vikravandi-Sethiathope section, Sethiathope-Cholopuram section and Cholopuram-Thanjavur section of National Highway (NH) 45C and six-laning of Karaipettai-Walajapet section of NH 4. He also laid the foundation stone for the widening and strengthening of carriage ways and culverts on NH 234. The projects were aimed at further strengthening the roadway and railway infrastructure in the State, besides paving the way for better, faster and cheaper transportation for people in the State. On the Railways front, Modi dedicated the electrification of Erode-Karur-Tiruchchirapalli and Salem-Karur-Dindigul railway lines to the nation.