Bikaner, May 22 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the redeveloped Amrit Bharat Deshnoke Railway Station and flagged off the Bikaner-Mumbai train service in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district on Thursday.

During this, he also inspected an exhibition at the railway station and interacted with the students, who gifted him some paintings.

Earlier, he landed at Nal Airbase in Bikaner and proceeded directly to the Karni Mata Temple in Deshnok. PM Modi offered prayers at the famous temple.

Upon his arrival, the Prime Minister was received by Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagde, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, and Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Temple authorities welcomed him with a replica of the Karni Mata Temple, and he also offered ‘prasad’ and a donation at the sanctum.

This is his first visit to Rajasthan following India’s attack on terror launch pads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7.

He will also address a large public meeting in Palana village near Bikaner.

His total stay in Bikaner is scheduled for 3 hours and 25 minutes. This visit is reminiscent of his public address in Churu, delivered on the morning of the airstrikes following the Pulwama attack.

The Prime Minister will depart for Palana village by road, a journey of about 8 kilometres. A massive crowd of over one lakh people is expected at the public meeting venue, where elaborate seating arrangements and a large pandal have been set up.

During the event, PM Modi will inaugurate 103 Amrit Stations nationwide and lay the foundation stone for various development projects worth Rs 26,000 crore. These projects include 1,000 km of electrified railway tracks, seven major road projects, three vehicle underpasses, a PowerGrid transmission project and 900 km of national highways in Rajasthan. After the public meeting, the Prime Minister will return to Nal Airport by helicopter around 12.30 p.m. and depart for Delhi at around 1.15 p.m.

–IANS

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