Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked that the city of Surat is a wonderful example of both people’s solidarity and public participation. Highlighting the biggest feature of Surat, he said that it is a city that respects labour. “There will not be any region of India whose people do not live on the land of Surat- a kind of Mini Hindustan”, he added.
Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated various projects worth more than Rs. 3400 crores in Surat on Thursday. He inaugurated Phase-I of road infrastructure works and the main entrance of Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City. He also laid the foundation stone of Phase II of the project.
Further, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of Biodiversity Park, which is being built in an area of over 87 hectares from Dr Hedgewar Bridge to Bhimrad-Bamrolli Bridge. He also inaugurated the Khoj Museum at the Science Centre in Surat.
Highlighting the positive effects after the formation of the double-engine government, Modi said that the construction of houses and other facilities provided to the poor and middle-class families of Surat has gone up significantly. Underlining the benefits derived from the Ayushman Bharat scheme, he pointed out that about 40 million poor patients have received free treatment in the country so far. The Prime Minister added, “More than 32 lakh patients are from Gujarat and about 1.25 lakh are from Surat.”
Remarking on the National Logistics Policy, Modi said that work is underway on a huge project on multi-modal connectivity. Hazira Ghogha RoPax ferry service is saving both time and money by reducing400 km road distance dramatically from 10-12 hours to 3-4 hours via RoPax.
Giving an example of connectivity from Surat to Kashi and Eastern Uttar Pradesh, the Prime Minister said that truck loads of goods are transported, and now the railway and coastal departments have come up with unique innovations to boost the number of shipments.
He explained, “ Railways has changed the design of its coaches in such a way that cargo can easily fit in it. One-ton containers have also been specially made for this. These containers are easily loaded and unloaded. After the initial success, now an attempt is being made to run a new train from Surat to Kashi. This train will take goods from Surat to Kashi.”