PM Modi inaugurates Smriti Van memorial for 2001 Gujarat earthquake victims in Bhuj
PM Modi Gujarat visit: Modi is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, his home state, from August 27 during which he will take part in a host of programmes and inaugurate or lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects.
PM Modi Gujarat visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 28 (Sunday) inaugurated Smriti Van memorial built on the outskirts of Anjar town in Kutch district as a tribute to schoolchildren and teachers who died during the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat.
Modi is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, his home state, from August 27 during which he will take part in a host of programmes and inaugurate or lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects.
On August 28, PM Modi is also scheduled to address a gathering in Bhuj town of Kutch district. From the same venue, he will virtually inaugurate or perform ground-breaking ceremonies for nearly 10 projects in the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch projects worth Rs 4,400 crore at Bhuj in Gujarat's Kutch district during the second day of his visit to the state where the Assembly elections are due later this year.
Know more about Smriti Van memorial:
The Smriti Van memorial has been built in nearly 470 acre area to celebrate the spirit of resilience following the death of 13,000 people during the 2001 earthquake which had its epicentre in Bhuj.
The memorial carries names of the people who lost their lives during the earthquake. It also has a state-of-the-art Smriti Van Earthquake Museum, as per a government release.
The museum showcases Gujarat's topography, rebuilding initiatives and success stories after the 2001 earthquake, and informs about different kinds of disasters and future readiness for any type of disaster.
It also has a block to relive the experience of an earthquake with the help of a 5D simulator and another block for people to pay homage to the lost souls.
PM Modi will also inaugurate a Kutch branch canal of the Sardar Sarovar Project to provide irrigation and drinking water in 948 villages and 10 towns of the district.
He will also inaugurate a new automatic milk processing and packing plant of Sarhad Dairy, a Regional Science Centre at Bhuj, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Convention Centre at Gandhidham, Veer Bal Smarak at Anjar, and Bhuj 2 substation at Nakhatrana.
Veer Balak Smarak inauguration:
One of these projects will be inauguration of "Veer Balak Smarak", a memorial built near Anjar town as a tribute to 185 schoolchildren and 20 teachers who were killed during a Republic Day parade on January 26, 2001, when a powerful earthquake, with its epicentre in Bhuj, hit parts of the state.
When they were passing through a lane as part of the parade, debris of buildings and walls fell on them due the strong trembler. Around 100 relatives of these children and teachers have been invited for the function.
The memorial also has a museum consisting of five sections displaying photographs of the victims, articles used by the children when they were alive, a simulator to make people feel an earthquake and a section to make members of the public aware about the scientific aspects of earthquakes.
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The memorial has names and photographs of all the school students and teachers who died, written on a wall.
According to the state government, nearly 13,000 people had died across the state in the earthquake.
Suzuki programme:
At around 5:00 pm, Prime Minister will address a programme in Gandhinagar, marking the commemoration of 40 years of Suzuki in India.
At the Suzuki programme, Modi will also lay the foundation stones of two key projects of the Suzuki Group in India- the Suzuki Motor Gujarat Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Facility in Hansalpur in Gujarat and its upcoming vehicle manufacturing facility in Kharkhoda in Haryana- the PMO said.
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The facility in Hansalpur will be set up with an investment of around Rs 7,300 crore to manufacture advance chemistry cell batteries for electric vehicles.
The vehicle manufacturing facility in Kharkhoda will have the potential to manufacture 10 lakh passenger vehicles per year, making it one of the largest passenger vehicle manufacturing facilities at a single site in the world.
The first phase of the project will be set up with an investment of over Rs 11,000 crore.
(With agencies inputs)
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