PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Bihar on Friday when he is scheduled to address a public rally in East Champaran district, besides launching development projects worth over Rs 7,000 crore.Tight security measures are in place at Gandhi Maidan in Motihari town, the district headquarters, where Modi is expected to reach in the forenoon and share the stage with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and a number of Union ministers.

“All arrangements have been made for the public at the venue of the rally, which is expected to attract around five lakh people,” East Champaran District Magistrate Saurabh Jorwal said.“People are likely to come from far-off places. As such, parking arrangements have been made for as many as 10,000 buses. The public will be allowed entry into the gigantic canopy through 12 gates, two of which are specially for women,” the DM added.Superintendent of Police Swarn Prabhat said that more than 10,000 police personnel have been deployed in the town.They will ensure proper law and order and traffic, under the supervision of 10 IPS officers and 50 officials of the Deputy SP rank, he said.“The entry into the canopy will be allowed from 6 am, and all entry points will be sealed after 9 am, over an hour in advance of the PM’s scheduled time of arrival,” he said.State BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said this will be the PM’s 53rd visit to the state, “which shows that Bihar is high on Modi’s list of priorities”.The development projects launched by him will give a boost to NDA ahead of assembly polls due in just a few months, he said.Of the development projects to be launched, those relating to Railways would be worth Rs 5,385 crore.According to a statement issued by the Railways, these include doubling of the 256-km Darbhanga-Narkatiaganj at Rs 4,079 crore, and Darbhanga-Thalwara and Samastipur-Rambhadrapur lines at Rs 585 crore.Four Amrit Bharat Express trains, all passing through the state and two connecting Bihar with Delhi, will also be flagged by the Prime Minister on the occasion.In addition, road and highways projects worth Rs 1,173 crore will be launched by Modi, who will also give away Rs 162 crore to 40,000 beneficiaries of the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) and extend “Rs 400 crore community funding” for 61,500 self-help groups.Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Tejashwi Yadav, said, “Tomorrow, when the PM will be in Bihar, we hope he will have a few words for soaring crime rate in the state.”“In every rally on Bihar’s soil, Modi makes it a point to cry hoarse about return of ‘jungle raj’ if the RJD-led coalition comes to power. He should acknowledge that ‘jungle raj’ has already arrived. In fact, it has been there during the 20 years the state has been under NDA rule,” Yadav alleged.Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak said that the people of Bihar have been fed up with the “antics of the Prime Minister” during his innumerable visits.“They still remember the rhetorical flourish with which he had pledged Rs 1.25 lakh crore assistance to the state way back in 2015. Nothing came of it,” he added.“We would also like to remind the PM of his promise to the people of Motihari, in 2014, that upon assuming power, he would get the area’s sick sugar mills revived and enjoy tea sweetened with local produce. The people of Motihari will serve him tea tomorrow, but it will be bland, like his own unfulfilled promises,” the Congress leader said.Nayak also alleged that “booth capturing” has given way to “voters’ list capturing” as the special intensive revision was being undertaken in the state by the Election Commission “to steal the assembly polls in favour of the BJP”.