PM Modi on two-day visit to Gujarat from Saturday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Smriti Van in Bhuj, which celebrates the spirit of resilience shown by people following the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, during his two-day visit to the state from Saturday.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in a statement, said Modi will address ‘Khadi Utsav’ at the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad on Saturday and address a programme on Sunday in Gandhinagar, commemorating 40 years of Suzuki in India.

Envisioned by the prime minister, Smriti Van is a one-of-its-kind initiative, the PMO said, adding it has been built over 470 acres of land to celebrate the spirit of resilience shown by the people after the death of around 13,000 people in the 2001 earthquake having its epicentre in Bhuj.

The memorial carries names of the people who had lost their lives during the earthquake.

The state-of-the-art Smriti Van Earthquake Museum is segregated in seven blocks based on seven themes — rebirth, rediscover, restore, rebuild, rethink, relive and renew — it said.

Modi will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 4,400 crore in Bhuj. In a one-of-its-kind event being held as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, ‘Khadi Utsav’ is being organised to pay tribute to khadi and its importance during the freedom struggle. It will be organised at the Sabarmati riverfront and will witness 7,500 women khadi artisans from various districts of Gujarat spinning charkha (spinning wheel) live at the same time and at the same place. The PMO said it has been Modi’s constant endeavour to popularise khadi, generate awareness about its products and promote their usage among the youth.

”As a result of the efforts of the prime minister since 2014, the sale of Khadi in India has witnessed a four-fold increase, whereas in Gujarat, it has witnessed a massive eight-fold increase,” it said.

The event will also feature an exhibition showcasing the ”evolution of charkhas” by displaying 22 charkhas from different generations used since 1920s.

Modi will also inaugurate the new office building of the ‘Gujarat Rajya Khadi Gramodyog Board’ and a foot overbridge at Sabarmati.

At the Suzuki programme, Modi will also lay the foundation stones of two key projects of the Suzuki Group in India — the Suzuki Motor Gujarat Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Facility in Hansalpur in Gujarat and its upcoming vehicle manufacturing facility in Kharkhoda in Haryana — the PMO said.

The facility in Hansalpur will be set up with an investment of around Rs 7,300 crore to manufacture advance chemistry cell batteries for electric vehicles. The vehicle manufacturing facility in Kharkhoda will have the potential to manufacture 10 lakh passenger vehicles per year, making it one of the largest passenger vehicle manufacturing facilities at a single site in the world.

The first phase of the project will be set up with an investment of over Rs 11,000 crore.