PM lays foundation for new ISRO launch complex in TN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth about Rs 17,300 crore here and castigated the earlier UPA regime for not ‘bothering’ about Tamil Nadu’s progress.

The state is writing a ‘new chapter of progress,’ and due to the Central government’s efforts, modern connectivity in Tamil Nadu is ‘on a new high’, Modi said after inaugurating the projects.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for a new launch complex of ISRO at Kulasekarapattinam near here, which is worth about Rs 986 crore and the facility is set to accommodate 24 launches per year.

The new complex includes 35 facilities, and features mobile launch structure (MLS) with checkout computers marking a significant stride in enhancing space exploration capabilities.

In a veiled reference to the ruling DMK, he alleged that though newspapers and TV channels wanted to highlight Centre’s such efforts “the regime here won’t allow them to do so,”

DMK Lok Sabha MP, Kanimozhi and Tamil Nadu PWD Minister EV Velu were on the dais.

Launching India’s first indigenous green hydrogen waterway vessel here, Modi said increasing connectivity due to the consistent efforts of the Central Government has enhanced ‘ease of living’ in Tamil Nadu. Development of the maritime sector also means development of a state like TN.

The new projects are an important part of the roadmap for a developed India, he said.

Apparently targeting the DMK-Congress and pointing to a slew of development projects launched, he said: “I need to tell the truth to the people of Tamil Nadu and the rest of the nation. Truth is bitter but it needs to be told...all these projects that I have brought, they were demands of locals for decades.” All the development initiatives have been delivered by the ‘sevak,’ he said in a reference to himself. Railways, highways and waterways might seem different, but all departments have one common objective of ensuring better connectivity, facilities and facilitating better opportunities for industries in Tamil Nadu, the PM noted.

After he laid the foundation stone for the outer harbour container terminal for VO Chidambaranar Port, the PM said an amount worth about Rs 7,000 crore will be invested in this project.

On the mission to build ‘Viksit Bharat’, he said ‘Viksit Tamil Nadu’ has a great role to play in this endeavour.