Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a blitzkrieg event inaugurated the 36th National Games at Narendra Modi Stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad. This was one of the three major events attended by the Prime Minister on the first day of his two-day visit to poll-bound home state Gujarat.
"The largest (cricket) stadium in the world is hosting the largest sports event for the nation with the youngest population. When the event is so wonderful and unique, its energy is bound to be this extraordinary,” the PM said while declaring the national games open to a packed stadium that has a capacity of over one lakh seats.
He said that "the feeling and energy of such a grand event are beyond words. More than 7,000 athletes, more than 15,000 participants, more than 35,000 colleges, universities and schools and the direct connection of more than 50 lakh students with the National Games is amazing and unprecedented."
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Gujarat is hosting the national games for the first time. Nearly 15,000 sportspersons, coaches, and officials from across the country are participating in 36 sports disciplines. Addressing the gathering, Modi said that India performed at its best at Tokyo Olympics.
The PM said that this "success" could have been achieved earlier but "sports in India was marred by corruption and nepotism, instead of the required professionalism. “We cleaned that and raised confidence in the youth for their dreams,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister landed in Surat where he led a mega road show and inaugurated phase 1 of road infrastructure works including the main entrance of Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City. He laid foundation stones and inaugurated projects worth over Rs 3,400 crores.
Similarly, Modi inaugurated and performed a ground-breaking ceremony of development projects worth over Rs 6,000 crores. Some of the projects included the world's first CNG terminal in Bhavnagar, the development of a brownfield port and a cargo container manufacturing unit.
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Addressing a gathering in Bhavnagar, Modi said, "When the poorest of the poor get resources and dignity, they overpower poverty by the dint of hard work and perseverance."
On Friday, the PM will flag off the Vande Bharat Express train from Gandhinagar railway station. This is the country's first indigenously developed train which will operate between Gandhinagar and Mumbai. This is also the first train equipped with Collision Avoidance System "KAVACH" technology, which automatically prevents train collisions. Later, Modi is also scheduled to flag off the first phase of the Ahmedabad metro rail project and ride from Kalupur station to Doordarshan Kedra station in Ahmedabad.
He will also be laying the foundation stone and dedicate various projects worth over Rs 7,200 crore in Ambaji in Banaskantha district. In all, according to state government officials, the PM is inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of projects worth a whopping Rs 29,000 crore.
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