Varanasi, 28 April (H.S.): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi for a two‑day visit, touching down at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Babatpur on Tuesday. Welcomed on the tarmac by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and other senior BJP leaders, the Prime Minister later flew by helicopter to the Bareka ground, where he is scheduled to address a massive women‑centric meet and launch long‑overdue infrastructure and welfare schemes.
Warm welcome at the airport and helipad
The convoy first paused at the airport for a brief interaction with the Governor, Chief Minister, and party functionaries before taking off in an Indian Air Force helicopter for the Bareka airfield. At the helipad too, Modi was received by Governor Anandiben Patel and CM Yogi Adityanath, who led the BJP‑led BJP‑hosted greeting. Union Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary, party’s national president Nitin Gadkari (Nitin Nabin), and several Uttar Pradesh ministers also joined the receiving line.
Bareka, known for its vast open ground near the Varanasi‑Prayagraj highway, has been converted into a high‑security compound ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, with women‑led security arrangements and all‑women protocol and logistics teams as part of the event’s “women‑only” theme.
‘Jan Aakrosh Mahila Sammelan’ with 50,000 women
From the main dais at Bareka Inter College field, Modi will address the “Jan Aakrosh Mahila Sammelan,” a large‑scale women’s convention focused on dignity, safety, financial independence, and equal opportunity. The gathering, expected to draw roughly 50,000 women from across Varanasi and neighbouring districts, is being organised by the BJP’s local unit under the aegis of Kashi BJP president Dilip Patel.
Unlike previous mass rallies, the organisers have decided that the audience in the galleries and the main seating will be exclusively women, including all‑women police and marshalling teams. Party leaders say the event is designed to showcase “women‑driven empowerment” and to highlight the role of schemes like Ujjwala, Mudra, One‑Stop Centres, and women‑centric credit initiatives in enhancing women’s agency in the region.
163 projects worth ₹6,322 crore in Kashi
Speaking via the local BJP unit, the Prime Minister will also unveil a package of 163 development projects worth ₹6,322 crore for the Varanasi‑Kashi region. Of these, 50 schemes amounting to ₹1,054.69 crore will be inaugurated, while 113 projects valued at ₹5,277.39 crore will be formally launched. The initiatives span transport, healthcare, education, smart‑city infrastructure, religious‑city revival and tourism‑linked facilities, with emphasis on improving last‑mile connectivity and service delivery for the “common citizen” in the temple‑town.
Additionally, PM Modi will electronically transfer a ₹105‑crore farmers’ bonus to over 100,000 dairy‑producer farmers linked with the Banas (Amul) cooperative, a move calculated to strengthen the rural‑dairy economy not only in Varanasi but across the state. The package is being marketed locally as one of the largest single‑day announcements for the constituency in the current term.
The Prime Minister will also flag off two new Amrit Bharat Express trains under the government’s semi‑high‑speed, comfort‑oriented category: one linking Banaras (Varanasi) with Pune (Hinjewadi/Pune station), and the second connecting Ayodhya with Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus).
Officials describe the corridors as vital arteries for religious tourism, pilgrimage and freight‑linked trade.
After the public events in Bareka, Modi will retire to his official residence in the city and return on Wednesday morning for a puja and darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, where he is expected to offer prayers and seek blessings before concluding his 54th visit to the constituency since entering Parliament.
The sequence of announcements, train‑launches, women’s rally and temple visit is being framed by the BJP as a symbolic “full‑circle” day for Prime Minister Modi’s Kashi connection.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
