Tripura is all set for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sunday visit, with security tightened not only in Agartala — where he is expected to address a crowd of 72,000 people — but also in villages and along the Indo-Bangla border, the state government said Saturday. Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury told reporters that Modi would land at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport at 2.15pm and be received by Chief Minister Manik Saha, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Devvarma, Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya, Union minister Pratima Bhoumik, Rajya Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb and Lok Sabha MP Rebati Tripura. After a brief welcome ceremony at the airport, the prime minister’s convoy would leave for the Swami Vivekananda ground, where he would address the public meeting. Modi would virtually join the “griha pravesh” of 1,51,019 rural beneficiaries and 54,526 urban beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana. Among other projects, the prime minister would remotely inaugurate the Tripura State Institute of Hotel Management at Anandanagar and Agartala Government Dental College at the state capital's Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital. The dental college will be the state’s first, and it will have 50 seats. The prime minister would also inaugurate a project for widening National Highway 8 and lay foundation stones for 32 road projects with a cumulative length of 232 km under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. He would also flag off 112 state and district highway projects of 542 km. The state government expects a massive gathering at the prime minister’s public meeting. Chowdhury said the government had hired 600 buses and 2,500 light and medium vehicles, and commissioned four additional trains to transport people from far-flung areas. “Our official estimation is that around 72,000 people would join the gathering at the Swami Vivekananda ground. All small and large vehicles have been booked for it. Over 14,000-15,000 people would come by train alone. The turnout would breach all records,” the minister said. Asked if the ground could accommodate 72,000 people, the minister said it had accommodated 1 lakh people before. “People will come but not everyone can enter the ground. They will be on the streets. There might be some congestion in the city. But tomorrow is a holiday. So it should not be a major problem,” he said. The prime minister would also meet MLAs and ministers at the state guesthouse. He is also scheduled to meet members of the ruling BJP’s state core committee.
