Leh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on his maiden visit to Leh and Kargil tomorrow during which he will be meeting Army and IAF personnel besides inaugurating two hydro-power projects and laying a foundation stone for the 349-km Leh-Srinagar transmission line.
Modi's visit to the two high-altitude Himalayan town—his second to Jammu and Kashmir after assuming office--is expected to touch on demands of locals in Leh and Kargil including employment generation and an assurance to take up with China and Pakistan respectively the issue of opening of Mansarovar road from Leh and re-opening of Kargil-Skardu road.
The Prime Minister will also address public meetings at Leh and Kargil.
Leh town is all decked up to welcome the Prime Minister with hoardings been erected at various places and BJP's Lotus flag seen prominently at various traffic intersections.
BJP bagged the Ladakh parliamentary constituency for the first time this year when its candidate Thupstan Chhewang won the seat by a slender margin of 36 votes.
The Prime Minister, who will be accompanied by Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, will be received at the airport here by state Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah besides senior ministers.
Chief Executive Councilor of Ladakh Hill Development Council Rigzin Spalbar told PTI that the people of Ladakh had high expectations from the Prime Minister's visit.
"I hope the BJP lives upto its promise of granting Union Territory status to the region," he said.
Spalbar, who has been raising various issues about the difficulties faced by people of this region, said he would also flag the frequent incursion bids by Chinese and attempts to terrorise the local population living along the Line of Actual Control(LoAC).
The Prime Minister, after his arrival here, will be addressing the airmen and army men who have been guarding the border in harsh winters in high altitude areas including at the world's highest battlefield at Siachen glacier.
