PM Modi’s Jammu & Kashmir visit: What to expect

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, April 24, to address panchayats across the country and mark the occasion of Panchayati Raj Diwas, when Panchayati Raj was institutionalised in India through the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992.

Security in the region has been beefed up ahead of the PM’s visit, which will take place despite an attack on CISF forces by suspected Pakistani terrorists on Friday, which left two security personnel dead.

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PM Modi will visit the Palli panchayat in the Samba district, from where he will address panchayats across the nation, ANI, citing the PMO, reported on Saturday.

Apart from addressing panchayats, PM Modi will also inaugurate a slew of development projects across the Union Territory.

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The 72-year-old will inaugurate the 8.45 kilometre-long Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel, built at a cost of over Rs 3100 crores, before heading to the Kishtwar district to flag off more projects.

In Kishtwar, the Indian Prime Minister will lay the foundation stones of two hydroelectric projects – the 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project and the 540 MW Kwar Hydroelectric Project – both of which will be built on the Chenab river.

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PM Modi’s trip to the Union Territory will mark his first visit to the erstwhile state since August 2019, when the BJP-led Central government ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status under Articles 370 and 35(A), and split the region into two separate Union Territories.

After his trip to Jammu and Kashmir on April 24, the Prime Minister will fly to Mumbai on the same day to attend the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards Ceremony, where he will be conferred the 1st Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award.