NARINDER GUPTA PUNJAB EXPRESS BUREAU Jalandhar, Febuary 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unveiled the new name of the Ad ampur airport here as Sri Guru Ravidass Maharaj Ji Airport, Adampur and also virtually inaugurated the terminal building at the Halwara airport in Ludhiana. The Prime Minister reached the Adampur airport at around 3.45 pm from Delhi following the presentation of the Union Budget in Parliament. Meanwhile, the PM virtually inaugurated the terminal building of the Halwara airport in Lud hiana, which will further advance aviation infra structure in Punjab. Developed at the Indian Air Force base in Halwara in the Raikot subdivision, the civil terminal is ex pected to significantly enhance air connectiv ity and boost industrial and economic growth in the region. The airport’s terminal building proj ect is a Rs 54.67-crore joint venture between the Punjab government and the Airports Authority of India

On the occasion, Union Civil Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kin jarapu, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu and other dignitaries were present at the Halwara airport in Ludhiana. Tight security arrange ments have been made for PM Modi’s Jaland har visit. The operationalization of Halwara airport’s ter minal building is expected to enhance air connectivity in the region significantly, providing a boost to in dustrial activity, tourism, healthcare, and education, and thereby contributing to the overall socio-economic development of Punjab, of ficials said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited the Dera Sachkhand Ballan here and paid tributes to Sri Guru Ravidas Ji on the occasion of 649th birth anniversary of the saint, who is re membered as a social reformer and poet. Modi’s visit to the dera came days after the sect’s head Sant Niranjan Dass was chosen for Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, on January 25. The Dera Sachkhand, located at Ballan in Jaland har, is the largest dera of Ravidassia community in the state. “Mein Punjab di iss dharti nu na man karda haan,” said the prime minister as he greeted people on the occasion of Guru Ravidas Jayanti and the Magh Purnima. Modi, who represents Varanasi in the Lok Sabha, told the gathering that the constituency also happens to be the birthplace of Sri Guru Ravidas Ji .