PM Modi to embark on two-day visit to Karnataka and Kerala beginning today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Karnataka and Kerala beginning today. Mr Modi will visit Sri Adi Shankara Janma Bhoomi Kshetram, the holy birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya, at Kalady village near Cochin Airport this eveing. 

Thereafter, around 6 PM, Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation various projects of Kochi Metro and Indian Railways worth over 4,500 crore rupees.

PM Modi will inaugurate the Phase I extension of the Kochi Metro Rail Project from Petta to SN junction. Kochi Metro Rail project will be one of the most sustainable metro projects in the country with nearly 55 percent of its energy needs being met by solar power.

Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for the Phase -II stretch of the Kochi Metro rail project from JLN stadium to Infopark, having a length of 11.2 kms and covering 11 stations.

Mr Modi will dedicate to the nation the doubling of Kuruppanthara-Kottayam-Chingavanam rail section, completed at a cost of nearly 750 Crore rupees.

With this, the entire stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangaluru is fully doubled now, promising faster and seamless connectivity.

Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of three Railway stations in Kerala - Ernakulam Junction, Ernakulam Town and Kollam.

These railway stations will be equipped with state-of-the-art amenities and world-class facilities such as dedicated arrival/departure corridors, sky-walks, solar panels, sewage treatment plants, energy-efficient lighting, rain-water harvesting and intermodal transport facilities.

Sources correspondent reports that the Prime Minister will first visit the Sri Adi Shankara Janama Bhoomi Kshethram at Kalady, the birthplace of Adi Shankara, the most renowned exponent of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy. 

Later, he will lay the foundation for the second phase of the Kochi Metro an 11 km stretch linking the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Info Park at Kakkanad. 

The second phase is expected to increase footfall substantially and rake in more revenue for the Metro system. 

The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the stretch between SN Junction and Vadakkekotta, an extension of the first phase of the Kochi Metro.

PM Modi will dedicate to the nation, the doubling of the Kuruppanthara-Kottayam-Chingavanam line and the electrification of the Kollam-Punalur line of the Southern Railway. 

He will also flag off two special trains. The foundation stones for the redevelopment of Ernakulam Junction, Ernakulam Town and Kollam Junction Railway stations will be laid on the occasion. 

Tomorrow, at a function at the Cochin Shipyard, Mr Modi will commission the first indigenous aircraft carrier as INS Vikrant, the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of the country. 

Shedding the vestiges of the colonial past, Mr Modi will unveil the new Naval ensign of the Indian Navy -- an ensign befitting the country's rich maritime heritage.