Amid the two-day visit to West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate, lay the foundation stone of and flag off development projects worth over ₹830 crore in West Bengal’s Hooghly district.
Returning to West Bengal after an overnight halt in Assam, PM Modi is scheduled to address a public rally at Singur, the site of the abandoned Tata Nano car project. The BJP is expected to sharpen its pitch on industrialisation and investment in the state, using Singur’s industrial legacy as political messaging.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for the Extended Port Gate System at Balagarh, comprising an Inland Water Transport (IWT) terminal and a Road Over Bridge.
Spread across nearly 900 acres, the Balagarh project is being developed as a modern cargo-handling terminal with an envisaged capacity of 2.7 million tonnes per annum. The facility has been planned with two jetties—one dedicated to containerised cargo and the other for dry bulk cargo.
The project aims to improve cargo evacuation efficiency by diverting heavy freight movement away from congested urban areas. The PMO noted that this is expected to ease traffic congestion, enhance road safety and reduce pollution in Kolkata.
The announcement comes as the Prime Minister resumes his two-day visit to the state amid a charged political atmosphere ahead of the assembly elections.
The Prime Minister will also launch a state-of-the-art electric catamaran in Kolkata to support urban river mobility, eco-tourism and last-mile connectivity along the Hooghly River.
Built indigenously by Cochin Shipyard Ltd, the 50-passenger hybrid electric aluminium catamaran is equipped with advanced electric propulsion systems and lithium-titanate battery technology for zero-emission operations in electric mode and extended endurance in hybrid mode. It is one of six such vessels being constructed for inland water transport.
Rail infrastructure is also part of the day’s agenda. Modi will inaugurate the Jayrambati–Barogopinathpur–Maynapur new rail line, a key segment of the under-construction Tarkeshwar–Bishnupur rail project. Alongside, a new passenger train service between Maynapur and Jayrambati, with a halt at Barogopinathpur, will be flagged off, providing direct rail connectivity to Bankura district for commuters, students and pilgrims.
The Prime Minister will additionally flag off three Amrit Bharat Express trains—the Howrah–Anand Vihar Terminal, Sealdah–Banaras and Santragachi–Tambaram services—to strengthen long-distance rail connectivity between West Bengal and other regions.
Singur’s Political Symbolism
The choice of Singur as the rally site is not incidental. Nearly two decades ago, protests against land acquisition for Tata Motors’ Nano plant forced the automaker to move the project to Gujarat. The BJP has repeatedly invoked the episode as evidence of a missed industrial opportunity and has promised to revive industrial growth in the state if voted to power.
On Saturday, the Prime Minister launched multiple rail and road infrastructure projects from Malda and flagged off the first Vande Bharat sleeper train service between Howrah and Guwahati. He also mounted an attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government, accusing it of enabling illegal infiltration and allowing a “syndicate raj” to flourish.
With assembly elections expected in early 2026, the BJP–TMC rivalry is intensifying. Earlier this week, the West Bengal Police filed four FIRs against 20 Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, accusing them of trespass and obstruction after the ED raided the I-PAC office. The move signalled a rare escalation by the state police against a central investigative agency.
The confrontation drew judicial intervention. The Supreme Court halted police investigations against the ED officials, effectively pausing the police probe.
