New Delhi, Aug 01: Two weeks before delivering his 12th consecutive Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked people to share their thoughts on the themes and ideas they want to be reflected in his speech.
He said on X, “As we approach this year’s Independence Day, I look forward to hearing from my fellow Indians! What themes or ideas would you like to see reflected in this year’s Independence Day speech?”
He urged them to share their thoughts on open forums on MyGov and the NaMo App.
In his August 15 addresses, Modi covers a broad sweep of issues facing the country and often makes new announcements.
Later in the day, it was also informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Assam on September 8 to inaugurate the year-long birth centenary celebrations of Bhupen Hazarika, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
The PM will arrive first at Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Golaghat district and dedicate to the nation the bio-ethanol plant, set up at a cost of Rs 4,200 crore, he said.
The PM will then travel to Mangaldoi in Darrang district, where he will inaugurate the Guwahati-Ring Road, a bridge over the Brahmaputra connecting Kuruwa and Narengi in Guwahati, and also lay the foundation stone of the Mangaldoi Medical College Hospital.
In the evening, he will arrive in Guwahati and inaugurate the birth centenary celebrations of Assam’s cultural doyen Bhupen Hazarika, Sarma said.
“The people of Assam are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the prime minister to inaugurate the various projects in the state, including the Bard of Brahmaputra’s birth centenary celebrations organised by the state government,” he said.
“The morale of the people in the state is very high due to the various developmental projects that have been initiated. We hope that in the next six months, the PM will inaugurate many of these projects,” he said.
“All these development projects have been possible due to the liberal and generous funding due to the PM’s initiative,” he said.
The state government has also utilised the Centre’s funding properly and used it for public welfare, he added.
The CM said he has directed the district commissioners to prepare a list of 50 people who had come into contact with Hazarika during his lifetime, and they will be invited to the function.
Besides, 1,000 artistes will also be invited to present together parts of Hazarika’s prominent songs, he said.
Sarma also launched a portal where people who want to attend the function can register till August 20. An invite will be sent to them by the state’s Cultural Affairs Department.
He said that at the function, the PM will also launch Hazarika’s biography.
The state government will also organise year-long celebrations across the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh, to commemorate Hazarika’s legacy.
The other day, it was also informed that Modi will launch multiple development projects worth around Rs 2,200 crore for Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, on Saturday.
A statement said the projects cater to several sectors, including infrastructure, education, healthcare, tourism, urban development and cultural heritage, and are aimed at achieving holistic urban transformation, cultural rejuvenation, improved connectivity and an enhanced quality of life in Varanasi.
Modi will inaugurate projects to widen and strengthen the Varanasi-Bhadohi and Chhitauni-Shool Tankeshwar roads, and construct a rail overbridge at Hardattpur to ease congestion on the Mohan Sarai-Adalpura Road.
He will lay the foundation stone for comprehensive road widening and strengthening across multiple rural and urban corridors, including Dalmandi, Lahartara-Kotwa, Gangapur, Babatpur, and rail overbridges at level crossing 22C and Khalispur Yard, the statement said.
Strengthening the power infrastructure in the region, the prime minister will lay the foundation stone for various initiatives under the Smart Distribution Project and undergrounding of electrical infrastructure worth more than Rs 880 crore.
In a major boost to tourism, Modi will inaugurate the redevelopment project of eight riverfront “kuccha ghats”, development works at Kalika Dham, beautification of the pond and the ghat at Rangildas Kutiya, Shivpur, and the restoration and water purification of Durgakund.
He will lay the foundation stone for restoration work at the Kardameshwar Mahadev temple, development of Karkhiyaon, the birthplace of several freedom fighters, city facility centres in the Sarnath, Rishi Mandvi and Ramnagar zones, redevelopment of Munshi Premchand’s ancestral house in Lamahi and upgrading it into a museum.
He will also lay the foundation stone for the development of the Urban Miyawaki Forest at Kanchanpur and the redevelopment and beautification of Shaheed Udyan and 21 other parks.
The other projects will include upgrading 53 school buildings within the municipal boundary, constructing a new district library and rejuvenating government high schools at Jakhini.
Furthering his vision for world-class sports infrastructure in Varanasi, the prime minister will inaugurate a synthetic hockey turf at the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Sports Stadium.
Enhancing facilities for law-enforcement personnel, he will inaugurate a 300-capacity multipurpose hall at Pradeshik Armed Constabulary (PAC), Ramnagar and lay the foundation stone for Quick Response Team (QRT) barracks.
He will also release the 20th instalment of PM-KISAN. An amount of more than Rs 20,500 crore will be transferred directly to the bank accounts of over 9.7 crore farmers across the country. With this release, the total disbursement under the scheme since its inception will surpass Rs 3.9 lakh crore.
A number of other projects related to health and water bodies will be unveiled as well.
