NEW DELHI: On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jalpaiguri to lay the foundation stone for the four-laning of the Falakata-Salsalabari section of National Highway-31 D. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, ''This 41.7 km-long section of National Highway falls in the Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal and will be constructed at a cost of about Rs 1938 crore,

However, the project will reduce the distance from Salsalabari and Alipurduar to Siliguri by nearly 50 km. This is important as better access to Siliguri means better access to railways and airways. The National Highway will make possible better movement of tea and other agricultural produce from the region to markets. The improved connectivity will also lead to an increase in tourism in the region. All this, in turn, will give a major boost to socio-economic activity in the state, opening up employment opportunities for the local people.

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The National Highway will incorporate all necessary safety features to provide relief to road users. There will be 3 Railway Over Bridges, 2 flyovers, 3 vehicular underpasses, 8 major bridges and 17 minor bridges on this section of the highway. The statement said that in Jalpaiguri, PM Modi will also inaugurate New High Court Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri.

To the Circuit bench of Calcutta High Court at Jalpaiguri will provide speedy justice to people of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar in North Bengal. Residents of these four districts will now have to travel less than 100 km to access the bench instead of 600-km trip to Calcutta High Court. PM Modi will later arrive in Chhattisgarh to address a rally in the Raigarh district.

This will be the PM Modi’s first rally in Chhattisgarh after the BJP suffered a massive loss in the state assembly elections in December last year.The rally is aimed at energising the party workers and supporters ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.Former Chief Minister Raman Singh, Union Minister of State for Steel Vishnudeo Sai, Rajya Sabha MP Ramvichar Netam are among those who will be present on the occasion.

Earlier in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won 10 out of 11 seats in the state. However, in the assembly polls held in November last year, the party had suffered a massive defeat at the hands of the Congress and bagged just 15 out of the 90 seats.

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