Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid foundation stones for various projects and schemes worth Rs 6,600 crore for the development of Bihar.
Modi flagged off the 12,000-horsepower freight electric locomotive assembled at the Madhepura factory, and a new train Champaran Humsafar Express between Katihar and Delhi.
He also laid foundations stones for bottling plants at Motihari and Sugauli (East Champaran), a six-lane national highway between Aurangabad and Jharkhand borders and four sewerage treatment plants, among others.
"These development projects and schemes are the expansion of Central government's vision for eastern states of UP, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar. The amount of development work the (current) Central government has done in eastern region of the country, no other government (at the Centre) has carried out," he said.
The prime minister was addressing around 20,000 'swachhagrahis' (volunteers of cleanliness movement) at the concluding ceremony of the Champaran Satyagraha centenary celebrations.
The Bihar government had in April 2017 launched year-long celebrations to mark the centenary of Champaran Satyagraha movement of Mahatma Gandhi.
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Modi dedicated a slew of development schemes to Champaran (both east and west champaran districts), including the Champaran Humsafar Express.
He said out of the 3.5-crore families with LPG connections, 50 lakh connections have been given to families in Bihar, which has increased the demand for LPG cylinders, Modi said.
To cater to this demand, foundation stones have been laid for setting up the bottling plants, he said, adding, the construction of the new petroleum terminal at Motihari would help in meeting the requirement for diesel and petrol in Bihar.
The six-lane NH 2 between Aurangabad and Jharkhand borders will be constructed at a cost of Rs 882 crore.
During the last three-and-a-half years, a total of seven crore toilets were built in the country, the PM said, while 26 lakhs toilets were constructed in Bihar, UP, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir in only one week of the 'Swachhagrah' campaign.
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