PM's 2-day visit to Kerala begins on Sep 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be on a 2-day visit to Kerala from Thursday during which he would attend various programmes, including the commissioning of the country’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier — INS Vikrant — on September 2.

The Prime Minister would arrive here on Thursday evening, address a public meeting and visit the Adi Shankara Janmabhoomi Kshetram (temple) at Kalady — the birthplace of the Hindu saint, official sources said on Wednesday.

Also, he would lay the foundation stone of Kochi Metro Phase- II project at 6 PM on Thursday and inaugurate phase-1A, the first stretch from SN Junction to Vadakkekotta.

The next day, he would commission the Vikrant at the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi and also ”unveil the new naval ensign (Nishaan) thereby doing away with the colonial past,” the PMO has said in a statement.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Kochi Metro said its foundation-laying ceremony would be held at CIAL trade fair and exhibition centre. Governor Arif Muhammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The proposed phase-II corridor of Kochi Metro Rail Project from JLN stadium metro station to Infopark, Kakkanad, would cover 11.2 km and have 11 stations. Phase-I extension is the first stretch of work directly taken up by Kochi Metro Rail Limited. With the inauguration of Phase IA, Kochi Metro would cover at least 27 km with 24 stations.

The revenue operations of both the stations would begin at 7 PM soon after Modi dedicates the stations to the people of Kochi. The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety had given approval for the revenue operations of the Petta-SN junction stretch after the inspections.

The work for Vadakkekotta, SN Junction stations and Panamkutty bridge was started on October 16, 2019 and continued even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vadakkekotta is the biggest among the metro stations with an area of 4.3 lakh square feet.

Unlike other metro stations, large commercial spaces have been created on both inside and outside the new facilities. Vadakkekotta station depicts role of Kerala in the freedom struggle as its theme while SN Junction features Ayurveda and its modern approaches as theme.

On completion, the combined Phase-I and Phase-II metro network would link the major residential and commercial hubs in the city with major transit hubs such as railway stations and bus-stands, thus reinforcing the concept of multi-modal integration and first/last mile connectivity, the statement said.

As the SN junction and Vadakkekotta stations are opening for revenue operations, KMRL is expecting to touch an average of one lakh commuters per day, it added.