PM Modi to visit Bengal today; launch gas distribution project

Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal on Thursday, during which he will lay the foundation stone of a gas distribution project and address a public rally in Alipurduar district, a senior BJP leader said.

According to state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, both events will be held in adjoining areas of the district. “First, he will be at the government programme and then he will address a party meeting in Alipurduar. The PM will then leave for Patna in the evening. We are all excited to hear from him. It will be his first visit after ‘Operation Sindoor’,” Majumdar, also a Union minister, said.

Modi is expected to arrive in West Bengal from Sikkim after 1 pm, another state BJP leader said.

‘Operation Sindoor’ was launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7 under the operation.

A statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said the prime minister will lay the foundation stone of the City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts during the government function.

The CGD project, worth over Rs 1,010 crore, aims to supply Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to more than 2.5 lakh households and over 100 commercial establishments and industries. It will also provide Compressed Natural Gas to vehicles through around 19 CNG stations to be set up in line with the Minimum Work Program targets stipulated

by the government.