Mandya: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 10-lane Mysuru-Bengaluru Access Controlled Expressway at Gejjalagere near Maddur in Mandya this afternoon. It was the PM’s first visit to Mandya and he held a massive roadshow inside the Vokkaliga heartland in a poll-bound State.

It is expected to boost the spirit of the BJP cadre in the region. The PM’s special plane landed at Mysore Airport at 10.48 am and the PM took an MI helicopter to fly to Mandya.

The Expressway project has been developed at a cost of Rs. 8,480 crore and promises to reduce travel time between the two cities from 3 hours to 75 minutes. PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for the Mysuru-Kushalnagar four-lane Highway that will be built at a cost of Rs. 4,130 crore.

The roadshow spanned around 1.8 km from the Inspection Bungalow to Nanda Talkies Circle. He waved at a large cheering crowd, who had lined up on both sides of the route.

The Prime Minister picked up the flower petals which got piled up on the bonnet of his car and was seen hurling them back at the crowd. He also got down of his car and greeted folk artistes who staged a performance in his welcome.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi were present along with the PM on the dais.

In his address, Nitin Gadkari said that the new Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway will be connected to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Sulthan Bathery in Kerala. The new Expressway will double tourism in the region, he said, during the launch of the Expressway at Mandya.