PM Modi to attend Combined Commanders' Conference in Bhopal, flag off Vande Bharat service

Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express from Rani Kamalapati railway station to Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal on Saturday to take part in the ongoing Combined Commanders' Conference and also flag off a Vande Bharat Express service to Delhi.

A roadshow scheduled to be held to welcome and thank the prime minister was cancelled due to Thursday's Indore temple tragedy in which 36 persons died, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary has said.

PM Modi will arrive in the state capital and take part in the Combined Commanders' Conference at 10 am.

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He will then flag off the Vande Bharat Express from Rani Kamalapati railway station here to Delhi around 3.15 pm, sources said. In view of the temple tragedy in Indore, the proposed roadshow to honour the PM has been cancelled, MP BJP chief Vishnu Dutt Sharma told reporters on Friday.

Thirty-six persons were killed after the floor of the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple built on top of a 'bawdi' or stepwell caved in during the Ram Navami celebrations on Thursday. A havan (fire ritual) was being performed at the temple located in Patel Nagar area of Indore city.

The Combined Commanders' Conference, which began on March 30, is being held on the theme 'ready, resurgent, relevant' and will see deliberations over a spectrum of issues pertaining to national security, including jointness and theaterisation in the armed forces.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) earlier said that the new train being introduced between Rani Kamalapati railway station in Bhopal and New Delhi railway station will be the eleventh Vande Bharat train in the country.

The indigenously designed train set of Vande Bharat Express is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities. It will provide faster, comfortable and convenient travel experience to rail users, boost tourism and promote economic development in the region, it has said.