STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Jan 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Assam on January 17 and 18 to take part in a series of cultural and development programmes, including the flagging off of new railway services and the laying of the foundation stone for the Kaziranga elevated corridor.
The visit, Modi’s second to the state in less than a month ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, will begin on Saturday evening with his arrival in Guwahati.
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He is scheduled to attend a grand Bodo cultural programme, “Bagurumba Dwhou 2026”, at the Sarusajai Stadium, where over 10,000 artistes from the Bodo community will present a synchronised Bagurumba dance performance.
Participants from 81 Assembly constituencies across 23 districts are expected to take part, making it one of the largest cultural showcases of its kind in Assam.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister will travel to Kaliabor, where he will perform the bhoomi pujan for the Rs 6,957-crore Kaziranga elevated corridor project.
The 86-km four-laning of the Kaliabor–Numaligarh section of NH-715 includes a 35-km elevated wildlife corridor through Kaziranga National Park, along with bypasses and highway widening, aimed at improving connectivity while ensuring protection of wildlife and reducing human-animal conflict across Nagaon, Golaghat and Karbi Anglong districts.
During the programme at Kaliabor, Modi will also flag off two new Amrit Bharat Express trains connecting Guwahati (Kamakhya) with Rohtak and Dibrugarh with Gomti Nagar (Lucknow), strengthening rail links between the Northeast and northern India.
As part of his wider itinerary covering eastern India, the Prime Minister will additionally flag off India’s first Vande Bharat Sleeper Train between Howrah and Guwahati (Kamakhya).
The fully air-conditioned sleeper service is expected to reduce travel time on the route by around two-and-a-half hours and boost long-distance travel, tourism and economic activity.
Several other Amrit Bharat Express services will also be virtually flagged off, further enhancing affordable long-distance rail connectivity.
Modi had last visited Assam in December, when he inaugurated the new terminal of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, unveiled a statue of Assam’s first chief minister Gopinath Bardaloi and laid the foundation stone for a Rs 10,601-crore ammonia-urea plant in Dibrugarh, besides addressing public meetings in Guwahati and Namrup.
