Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday has been put off in view of heavy rain warning, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday. However, the PM's visit to Bhopal, where he will physically and virtually flag off five Vande Bharat trains, and separately address a booth-level function of BJP workers, will take place as scheduled on Tuesday, he said.
Chouhan said lakhs of people were expected to reach Lalpur village in Shahdol district, where Modi was scheduled to launch the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission and kickstart distribution of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) cards. At the same event, he was slated to honour 16th century warrior queen Rani Durgavati at the conclusion of a yatra organised by the Madhya Pradesh government to popularise her valour and sacrifice.
The PM was also slated to visit Pakaria village in the same district to interact with tribal leaders, members of self-help groups (women whose yearly income is more than Rs 1 lakh), leaders of PESA (Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act) committees and captains of village football clubs. However, the prime minister has postponed his visit to the tribal-dominated district because of warning of heavy rains and keeping in mind inconvenience downpour may have caused to people coming to attend the events, said Chouhan in a statement.
A new date for his visit will be announced soon, he added. The India Meteorological Department on Monday issued an orange alert, warning heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in Madhya Pradesh till Tuesday morning. A proposed road show of Modi in Bhopal has also been cancelled because of weather conditions, a party leader earlier said. During his visit to the state capital, the PM will flag off -- physically and virtually -- five Vande Bharat trains.
These semi high-speed trains are: Rani Kamalapati (Bhopal)-Jabalpur Vande Bharat Express, Khajuraho-Bhopal-Indore Vande Bharat Express, Madgaon (Goa)-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express, Dharwad-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, and Hatia-Patna Vande Bharat Express, an official statement said.
At another function, Modi will address 3,000 BJP workers selected from across the country who have made effective contributions in empowering their booths under the party's “Mera Booth Sabse Majboot” campaign, state BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma said. Besides, Modi will interact with 10 lakh booth-level BJP workers virtually on the occasion, Sharma said.