AMN

Prime Minister Modi today laid the foundation stone of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on an island off the Mumbai coast today. He also performed Jal pujan for the grand memorial of 17th century Maratha king, at Arabian Sea in Mumbai. Mr Modi immersed the soil and water collected from various forts and rivers across Maharashtra to mark the bhoomipujan of the memorial. He said that even in the midst of struggle, Chhatrapati Shivaji remained a torch bearer of good governance. He said, Shivaji’s policies on water and finance are very inspiring for us.

Governor of Maharashtra Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and Shivaji Maharaj’s descendants Udayanraje Bhosle and Sambhajiraje Bhosle were present on the occasion. The memorial will be 192-metre high and will cost 3600 crore rupees. The first phase of the memorial will be completed by 2019 and the entire memorial by 2021.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stones for two Mumbai Metro projects, the Elevated Railway Corridors Project and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project and one Pune Metro project. Speaking after laying the foundation stone for Pune Metro Rail Project in Pune Prime Minister said, it is NDA government’s endeavour that whatever projects are taken up are completed within the decided time frame. The Prime Minister also appealed to the people of Pune to come forward for cashless transaction.