Modi to Inaugurate Bengaluru Metro Pink Line, Launch Vande Bharat Train on Nov 13

The Prime Minister will inaugurate and dedicate development projects worth over Rs 15,600 crore to the nation at a programme in Bengaluru. The projects span urban transport, renewable energy, petroleum infrastructure, waste management and railway connectivity.

Modi will begin his Karnataka visit by participating in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Prashanti Kutiram, the headquarters of the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA), at around 10.45 am. He will lay the foundation stone for its Golden Jubilee Administrative Block and launch the institution's off-campus centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

At around 12.45 pm, he will flag off the Bengaluru Metro's Pink Line and undertake a ride from Tavarekere to IIM Bangalore Metro station. The line, connecting Kalena Agrahara to Tavarekere, has been developed at a cost of around Rs 3,470 crore and is expected to improve connectivity and ease traffic congestion in the city.

Among the major projects to be dedicated to the nation is India's largest underground LPG storage cavern in Mangaluru, built at a cost of over Rs 850 crore. With a storage capacity of 80,000 metric tonnes, the facility is expected to strengthen the country's LPG storage infrastructure. The project also includes a 9.4-km pipeline connecting New Mangalore Port to the main terminal.

Modi will also dedicate the Devangonthi Marketing Terminal of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), built at an investment of Rs 330 crore, to strengthen petroleum product storage and distribution in Karnataka.

Railway infrastructure will be another major component of the programme. The Prime Minister will flag off the Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express, which will connect Bengaluru with Coastal Karnataka and Goa. The train will pass through Hassan, Sakleshpur, Mangaluru, Udupi, Murdeshwar, Gokarna and Karwar before reaching Madgaon.

He will also dedicate the 45-km Bagalkot-Wandal railway line doubling section, part of the 284-km Gadag-Hotgi doubling project, to the nation. The section is expected to improve passenger and freight movement and facilitate coal transportation to the Kudgi NTPC plant.

The electrification of the 55-km Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road ghat railway section will also be dedicated to the nation. With this, the entire Bengaluru-Mangaluru railway route will be electrified.

Four redeveloped railway stations — Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road — will also be inaugurated under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

In the renewable energy sector, Modi will inaugurate transmission projects in Koppal, Gadag and Bidar, involving investments of around Rs 4,450 crore and Rs 1,370 crore, respectively. These projects will facilitate the transmission of renewable power generated in the regions to the national grid.

He will also lay the foundation stones for two transmission projects integrating renewable energy zones in Davanagere, Chitradurga and Ballari, involving investments of over Rs 3,450 crore and Rs 1,100 crore, respectively.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for a compressed biogas plant at Haralakunte in Bengaluru. The GAIL project will process around 300 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily to produce 12.6 tonnes of compressed biogas.

After the Bengaluru programme, Modi will travel to Mysuru, where he will participate in a tree-plantation programme at Bharat Vann at around 3.30 pm as part of the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' initiative.

Spread across 17.63 acres, Bharat Vann is an urban afforestation project aimed at developing a dense native forest using the Miyawaki technique. The project envisages planting more than two lakh native trees.

At around 4 pm, he will inaugurate the COSMOS-Mysuru Planetarium on the University of Mysore campus, near the foothills of Chamundi Hills.

Built by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the facility is the country's first LED Dome planetarium. Its 15-metre tilted dome has around 6,150 panels containing 4.2 crore individual LEDs, offering an immersive viewing experience.

The planetarium will have a sky theatre showcasing astronomy programmes in Kannada, English and Hindi, besides exhibition halls, a museum, a lecture hall and a training centre.

The Prime Minister will also address gatherings at the programmes in Bengaluru and Mysuru.