During his day-long visit to Pune, Maharashtra, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off metro trains to inaugurate the services on completed sections of two corridors of Pune Metro Phase-I. The sections include the route from Phugewadi station to Civil Court station and from Garware College station to Ruby Hall Clinic station. These new sections will connect essential locations in Pune, such as Shivaji Nagar, Civil Court, Pune Municipal Corporation office, Pune RTO, and Pune Railway Station. The Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone for this project in 2016.
At the Shivaji Nagar Police headquarters in Pune, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various development projects worth Rs 15,000 crores. During his address at the inauguration ceremony, he emphasized his government’s commitment to improving the quality of life for the people. He stated that thousands of families have received proper housing due to the development initiatives, and the government is particularly focused on enhancing the quality of life for the middle class and professionals in the city.
During the event, PM Modi expressed his happiness and emotions upon being conferred with the Lokmanya Tilak National Award. He shared the stage with Sharad Pawar, a stalwart from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Prime Minister paid homage to Lokmanya Tilak and all the freedom fighters who contributed to India’s independence. He decided to donate the prize money from the award to the Namami Gange project as a dedication to the people of the country.
The Lokmanya Tilak National Award was instituted by the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust in 1983 to honor the legacy of Lokmanya Tilak. PM Modi became the 41st recipient of the award, joining the ranks of luminaries such as Shankar Dayal Sharma, Pranab Mukherjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indira Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, NR Narayana Murthy, and E Sreedharan, among others.
Upon his arrival in Pune, PM Modi was welcomed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. He also visited and offered prayers at the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Mandir.
