Modi in Bengaluru live updates | Prime Minister Modi flags off South India’s first Vande Bharat Express

Bengaluru is geared up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit today, where he will participate in a slew of events. Ahead of the visit, the BBMP has undertaken repair works on all pothole-ridden roads and spruced up the city. With elections in mid-2023, the visit is regarded as politically significant for the BJP government in Karnataka that has, over the last two years, faced many controversies.

The Prime Minister will arrive at the HAL Airport and, after a brief stopover at Vidhana Soudha, will head to Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway station by road where he will flag off the Vande Bharat Express and the Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan train.

He will then travel to Kempegowda International Airport where he will open Terminal 2 and unveil the 108-feet tall Kempegowda statue.  Following this, Mr. Modi will be addressing a public rally. He is also expected to launch the Amrut 2.0 scheme during his visit.

BENGALURU | 10.25 am

Narendra Modi got down from his car and walked on the road for a short distance waving at and greeting BJP workers and his supporters who have gathered on either side of the roads on the route he is taking. He is on his way to the helipad at Air Force Tactical Training Centre in Hebbal.

BENGALURU | 10.10 am

Vande Bharat Express, Bharat Gaurav train flagged off

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two trains from Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station: Mysuru-Chennai Vande Bharat Express and Karnataka Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan Trains.

Vande Bharat Express, the fastest rail in the country connects Mysuru and Chennai. The semi-high-speed 16-car train with a seating capacity of 1,128 has several advanced technological and safety features, including Kavach (train anti-collision avoidance system). The seating composition will be chair car and executive chair car. The fully air-conditioned train has sliding doors, CCTV cameras, and comfortable reclining seats. In addition, there are a slew of features for passenger comfort, including photocatalytic ultraviolet air purification system. 

The newer version of the premium trains can reach a speed of 100 km/hr in 52 seconds, and run at a maximum speed of 180 kmph, weighs about 392 tons instead of 430 tons of the older version of the same train, and is reckoned to be 15% more energy efficient.

The Karnataka Bhart Gaurav Kashi Darshan Train offers 8-day tour package at discounted rates for pilgrims and will cover Varanasi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj. The state government has announced an assistance of ₹5000 for Kashi Yatra pilgrims.

BENGALURU | 9.50 am

Train services affected due to inauguration of Vande Bharat Express

South Western Railway (SWR) has said that a number of trains will be cancelled, partially cancelled, diverted, rescheduled, regulated in view of operational requirements. While Train No. 06581/06582 KSR Bengaluru-Channapatna-KSR Bengaluru Express will be cancelled, 11 trains will be partially cancelled. Here is a full list of the cancelled trains.

BENGALURU | 9.45 am

Modi offers floral tribute

At the Vidhana Soudha premises, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tributes to saint poet Kanaka Dasa and sported the black woollen blanket, a trademark of Kurubas, the community Kanaka Dasa belonged to. Today, the state is celebrating Kanaka Dasa Jayanthi. Niranjanananda Puri Swamiji of Kaginele Kanaka Guru Peetha was also present during the event.

Mr. Modi also paid floral tributes to the statue of Maharshi Valmiki. Prasannanda Puri Swamiji and Transport Minister B. Sriramulu of the Valmiki community were also present during the event. The state BJP government has recently hiked reservation for Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 3% to 7%, which will mainly benefit the Valmiki community.

BENGALURU | 9.30 am

Airport issues traffic advisories

Passengers travelling towards the Bengaluru International airport have been advised not to use the Airport Corridor in view of PM Modi’s visit. Alternative route via airport backgate, i.e. Hennur-Kothanur-Bagalur-Begur backgate can be taken in order to avoid delay between 8 am to 5 pm, the advisory said.

BMTC suspends buses to Majestic

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has suspended entry of buses to Majestic bus stand between 10 a.m to 12 p.m on Friday (November 11). The Prime Minister is scheduled to flagg of Vande Bharat Express (between Chennai and Mysuru via Bengaluru) and Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan Yatra trains at KSR Bengaluru station in Majestic.

An official of the BMTC said that the entry of buses to Majestic bus stand was suspended as per the instructions of the police department. “As a security measure, the buses heading to Majestic bus stand will terminate at the nearest bus stop. We are going by the instructions of the police department,” said a BMTC official.

BENGALURU | 9.20 am

Preparations for flagging off ceremony of Vande Bharat Express at KSR railway station

BENGALURU | 9.05 am

PM Modi arrives in Bengaluru

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at HAL Airport and is on the way to Vidhana Soudha. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and Union Minister Prahlad Joshi welcomed him. BJP workers and people have gathered in large numbers and are standing on either sides of the road to welcome Mr. Modi.

BENGALURU | 9.00 am

KIA T2 — Integrated, Innovative, Green & Sustainable

The much-awaited Terminal 2 of the Kempegowda International Airport has been developed at a cost of ₹5,000 crore and has the capacity to handle 2.5 crore passengers a year.

The new terminal is being constructed in two phases. The first phase of T2 will be inaugurated today. According to BIAL, once completed, the 255,000 sq.m. Phase 1 of T2 will augment the capacity of the airport by 25 million passengers per annum (MPPA). The second phase of terminal 2, which is still in the planning stage, will be built for an additional 20 MPPA. Once operational, the combined capacity of both terminals will be 70 MPPA.

T2 is being designed as an integrated terminal to handle both domestic as well as international passengers.

Also read: Drones permitted in KIA’s T2 in Bengaluru, but T&C apply

According to BIAL, T2 will be built on four guiding principles, terminal in a garden, sustainability, technology and innovation, and art and culture of Karnataka. Terminal in a garden will pay tribute to the garden city and T2 will have lush greenery within and outside.

BENGALURU | 8.50 am

Statue of Prosperity sets world record

The statue of Bengaluru founder Kempegowda, which will be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the city on November 11, 2022, has found its way into the Wold Book of Records, London.

Dubbed the “Statue of Prosperity” or “Pragatiya Prathime” by the BJP government led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the mammoth statue of the founding architect of Bengaluru, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, is located on the Bengaluru International Airport premises.

According to the World Book of Records, it is the first and tallest bronze statue of a founder of a city. The citation by WBR said the statue stands 108 feet in height with a sword weighing 4 tonnes.

BENGALURU | 8.45 am

A yatra to win over Vokkaligas

In the run-up the Karnataka Assembly elections in mid-2023, the BJP government in Karnataka is employing various strategies to make inroads into the Vokkaliga turf and grab voters from the community.

Building of the statue of Bengaluru founder, Kempegowda, and the Kempegowda Rath Yatra are a part of this plan.

The 45-day campaign was launched on October 21 and will travel the state collecting mud from lakes, ponds, kalyanis, rivers, pushkarinis and streams in all the villages of the Vokkaliga heartland. The mud will be used to develop a theme park, around the vision of the Yelahanka chieftain, on the 23 acres of land that also houses the statue.

BENGALURU | 8.30 am

Premium express sees successful trial run

The Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru route is the country’s fifth Vande Bharat Express. It is also the first Vande Bharat train for the state as well as all of south India.

The trial run of the route, took place on November 7. The train departed from Chennai at 5.50 a.m. and reached Mysuru at 12.13 p.m. Between Bengaluru and Mysuru, the train clocked 100 kmph, which is the maximum permissible speed on this section, while it reached 110 kmph between Bengaluru and Jolarpettai in Tamil Nadu.

In September, based on their popularity and feasibility, the South Western Railway (SWR) had proposed operating the new generation Vande Bharat Express on three routes connecting Bengaluru. The proposed routes were Bengaluru to Coimbatore, Bengaluru to Chennai, and Bengaluru to Hubballi.

However, on October 14, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha announced that the State’s first Vande Bharat Express will ply on the Mysuru-Bengaluru-Chennai section and took to Twitter to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Incidentally, the third and the fourth Vande Bharat Express trains were dedicated to Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where elections are scheduled later this year. Karnataka will go to polls in mid-2023.

BENGALURU | 8.20 am

Special train to Varanasi

The Karnataka-Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan was announced by the Karnataka government “for strengthening cultural bonds” between Karnataka and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Starting November, three special trains will operate in a month between Bengaluru and Varanasi for pilgrims who want to visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

It will be an eight-day tour package, including seminars, lectures, group meetings, and visits to the Vishwanath temple and centres of important cultural heritage in Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Ayodhya.

The train will carry 700 pilgrims. After deducting the government’s subsidy of ₹5,000 to each pilgrim, the cost of the journey will be ₹15,000 for each person.

BENGALURU | 8.10 am

BBMP spruces up Bengaluru

Ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the city on November 11, the BBMP expedited filling of potholes on Bengaluru roads and claimed that it had filled 29,517 out of 32,011 potholes identified till Tuesday. BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said the civic body had filled up 92.21% of potholes in the city.

The BBMP had taken up a similar makeover drive in June 2022 during PM Modi’s last visit to Bengaluru. The civic body had spent ₹23 crore to redo 14 km of road, including stretches of Mysuru Road and Ballari Road. However, merely days after the facelift, a road caved in baring a sinkhole on one of the newly laid stretches ahead of Nagarabhavi Circle near the Dr. B. R. Ambedkar School of Economics University, Bengaluru (BASE), campus that Mr. Modi had inaugurated.

The resulting social media outrage over shoddy civic works prompted the Chief Minister to order a probe while the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also sought a report.

BENGALURU | 8.00 am

DDPUE circular draws flak

On November 8, Deputy Director of Pre University Education (DDPUE) of Bengaluru Rural District issued a circular asking colleges in the district to bring students for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s events on November 11, failing which he warned that the principals would be responsible for its consequences. The district administration had set a target to mobilise 8,000 students from the district’s colleges for the PM’s event.

The circular was withdrawn on November 9, following objections from opposition parties and a section of the people after it was widely shared on social media.

KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar took a dig at the BJP remakring sarcastically that the BJP needed college students to fill up the chairs during the Prime Minister’s programme, after the poor response to its Jana Sankalpa Yatre.