Amid continued heavy rains witnessed for the second consecutive day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled his scheduled visit to Pune on Thursday to inaugurate, dedicate and lay foundation stones for several development projects worth Rs. 22,600 crore and throw open the Solapur Airport to air traffic.

Confirming the development, Pune divisional commissioner Chandrakant Pulkundwar said: “The Prime Minister’s visit to Pune has been cancelled. The scheduled programmes have been officially postponed,” Pune divisional commissioner Chandrakant Pulkundwar said.

”Owing to an orange alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Prime Minister’s programme has been cancelled.

In the event of rains, people coming for the programme will have problems. Keeping the safety of people in mind, the PMO has cancelled the programme,” Maha-Metro spokesperson Hemant Sonawane said.

Pune recorded 130 mm of rainfall on Wednesday and there was no let in heavy rains on Thursday as well.

During his visit to Pune, Modi was to flag off the Metro train scheduled to run from District court yMetro station to Swargate, Pune. The inauguration of Pune Metro section of District Court to Swargate meant completion of the Pune Metro Rail Project (Phase-1). The cost of the underground section between District Court to Swargate is around Rs 1,810 crore.

The Extension of Pune Metro Phase-I is developed at the cost of around Rs 2,950 crore  The three stations -- Market Yard, Padmavati and Katraj – coming under the project have been constructed under-ground. 

During his Pune visit,  Modi was also to lay the foundation stone for the Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule’s First Girls’ School at Bhidewada.

Modi was also to dedicate to the nation Bidkin Industrial Area, a transformative project covering an expansive 7,855 acres under the National Industrial Corridor Development Program of Govt. of India, situated 20 kms south of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (known earlier as Aurangabad).