: Modi to unveil Kempegowdas 108-ft statue, inaugurate Bengaluru Airports Terminal 2 on Friday #IndiaNEWS #India Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Bengaluru on Friday to unveil the

Modi to unveil Kempegowdas 108-ft statue, inaugurate Bengaluru Airports Terminal 2 on Friday #IndiaNEWS #India
Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Bengaluru on Friday to unveil the 108-feet bronze statue of citys founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, and inaugurate Terminal 2 of the International Airport here, built at a cost of around Rs 5,000 crore.
Modi, who will attend a public function and addressing a mass gathering later in the day, will also be flagging off south Indias first Vande Bharat Express between Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru.
This visit of the Prime Minister is also politically significant for the ruling BJP in Karnataka, with about just about five months for the Assembly polls in the state, as the saffron party hopes to return to power, and has set a target of winning a minimum of 150 out of the 224 seats.
The party leaders hope this visit will energise cadres and mobilise public support in its favour.
Modi, who will arrive in the city on Friday morning, will pay floral tributes to the statues of saint poet Kanaka Dasa (on account of Kanaka Jayanti, his birth anniversary), and Maharshi Valmiki at the Vidhana Soudha premises here.
Both Kanaka Dasa and Valmiki are revered in the state, especially by Kuruba and Valmiki (ST) communities.
He will then leave for Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station here, where he will flag off the Mysuru-Chennai Vande Bharat Express.
This will be the fifth Vande Bharat Express train in the country and first one in south India. It is expected to enhance connectivity between the industrial hub of Chennai and the tech and start-up hub of Bengaluru and the famous tourist city of Mysuru.
At the same venue, Modi will also flag off the Bharat Gaurav Kashi Yatra train.
Karnataka is the first state to take up this train under the Bharat Gaurav scheme in which the Government of Karnataka and Ministry of Railways are working together to send pilgrims from the state to Kashi. The pilgrims will be provided comfortable stay and guidance for visiting Kashi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj.
Later, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport on the outskirts of Bengaluru, built at a cost of around Rs 5,000 crore.
The terminal is expected to double the passenger handling capacity of the airport to 5-6 crore passengers per annum, from the current capacity of about 2. 5 crore.
Terminal 2 is said to have been designed as a tribute to the Garden city of Bengaluru and the passenger experience is meant to be a walk in the garden. Passengers will travel through 10,000+ sq mts of green walls, hanging gardens and outdoor gardens.
According to an official release, the airport has already established a benchmark in sustainability with 100 per cent usage of renewable energy across the campus, and Terminal 2 has been created with sustainability principles woven into the design.