Srinagar, Feb 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate/lay foundation of projects worth Rs 3,161 crore during his forthcoming visit to J&K on February 20.

PM Modi will also formally start the BJP election campaign for the Lok Sabha polls in the UT. There are five Lok Sabha seats in J&K out of which the BJP has two. The party hopes to increase its tally this time.

The Prime Minister will address a public rally at the M.A. Stadium in Jammu city where the BJP says over one lakh people will assemble. Special enthusiasm to attend the public rally is seen among the Pahari community that was recently given the ST status.

During his expected two-hour long programme at the M.A.Stadium, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate projects worth Rs 3,161 crore from the Stadium.

Officials said he will also deliver appointment letters to youths and interact with people through a video conferencing programme from the Stadium.

PM Modi will partially inaugurate the ambitious Jammu-Srinagar train which will chug a symbolic journey of 48.5 kms ahead of Banihal town.

Railway officials said the train will be virtually inaugurated by the Prime Minister and it will run from Kashmir’s Baramulla town to Sangaldan going 48.5 kms ahead from its present deboarding station at Banihal in Jammu .

Among the projects to be virtually inaugurated by the Prime Minister are the AIIMS in Vijaypur town in Samba district, highest railway bridge in Reasi district, Devika Rejuvenation project, Shahpur Kandi project, IIM Jammu, several major roads and projects in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions.

He will also lay the foundation of 124 new projects in the UT on February 20. These include nine Industrial Estates covering 2210 kanals, construction and up gradation of 62 road projects and 42 bridges, 2816 flats for Kashmiri migrants at nine places in Anantnag, Kulgam, Kupwara, Shopian and Pulwama districts of Valley, upgradation/revamping of Transport Nagar at Parimpora in Srinagar and Data Centre/Disaster Recovery Centre for Integrated Command and Control Centre for Jammu Smart City.

A total of 85 projects to be virtually inaugurated by the Prime Minister include transit accommodation of 224 flats for Kashmiri migrants at Ganderbal and Kupwara, degree college buildings infrastructure at four places, Drug Testing Laboratory at Kathua, Grid Stations, Receiving Stations and Transmission Line projects in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions, 12 road projects and three bridges, modernization of Narwal Fruit Mandi, five Common Effluent Treatment Plants in Samba and Intelligent Traffic Management System in Srinagar City among others.

The last public rally addressed by the Prime Minister in J&K was on April 24, 2022 at Palli Panchayat in Samba district.

BJP has two seats in the outgoing Lok Sabha -- Jammu-Poonch and Udhampur-Kathua. The former is represented by Jugal Kishore and the latter by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (PMO). The BJP is eyeing the south Kashmir Lok Sabha seat that has Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu division in addition to Anantnag and Kulgam districts of Kashmir after the new delimitation of constituencies in J&K.

Security forces have been put on maximum alert to ensure the smooth conduct of the Prime Minister’s visit.