PM to visit Bihar's Purnea on Monday, launch development projects worth Rs 36,000 crore

Patna, Sep 14 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally and launch development projects worth Rs 36,000 crore in Purnea district in poll-bound Bihar on Monday.

He will also inaugurate a newly developed airport terminal in the north Bihar town, fulfilling the region's long-standing demand for air connectivity.

Another key highlight of the PM's visit is the inauguration of the National Makhana Board. The establishment of the board was announced in the Union budget earlier this year.

Bihar accounts for close to 90 per cent of the country's production of makhana, or Indian foxnut, which has been hailed as a "super food" by the PM in many of his speeches.

In a post on X, Modi said, "Makhana and Bihar have a very strong link. From Purnea tomorrow, the National Makhana Board will be launched. This will benefit several farmers associated with the sector." The BJP-led NDA, which hopes to retain power in the state, believes that the PM has been giving priority to Bihar.

"In his 11 years of tenure, Modi has gifted Bihar development projects worth about Rs 1.50 lakh crore. Tomorrow, there will be another bonanza. The state is enjoying the fruits of having a double-engine government," said senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who recently visited Purnea to review preparations for the PM's visit.

The state polls are likely to be announced in the next few weeks.

Elaborate security measures have been made in Purnea for the PM's visit, including the suspension of vehicular movement on national and state highways for 24 hours from midnight on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav conducted a "surprise inspection" of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Purnea.

Sharing on X a nearly eight-minute video shot on Saturday, Yadav said, "I visited the premises on a day when Union Health Minister JP Nadda was in Bihar. The situation, in the 11th year of the Modi government, is self-explanatory." In the video, the former deputy CM, who held the health portfolio during his short stint in power, is seen talking to patients and the hospital staff.

"The new building here must have cost hundreds of crores. Yet, it does not have an ICU or a trauma centre. There is no fully qualified cardiologist.

"Many patients, including children, are forced to lie in the open, leaving them vulnerable to infections like dengue as the construction work is still on," he claimed.

"Even the so-called functional wards lack basic facilities like separate toilets for men and women. Patients are making do with bedsheets which are dirty or are bringing them from home," he said.

Taking aim at both the Centre and the state government, Yadav said, "I would urge the PM that after having his fill of the tirade against jungle raj (RJD rule), he should visit the GMCH." "The stark failures of the double-engine government will stare him in the face. He must also bring along Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who loves to brag that since he took over in 2005, all has been good," the LoP said. PTI NAC MNB ASK DIV DIV