Vadodara, Sep 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi received an enthusiastic welcome from the young crowd at the ‘NaMo for Viksit Bharat’ programme in Vadodara on Tuesday, as thousands of people gathered for an event marking the launch and dedication of major infrastructure projects in Gujarat.

PM Modi arrived in Vadodara as part of his visit to Gujarat and Maharashtra, with the Vadodara programme centred on development projects worth more than Rs 35,000 crore.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to lay foundation stones, inaugurate and dedicate several rail, road, urban development and renewable energy projects to the nation.

A key highlight of the programme is the dedication of three sections of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), covering 326 route kilometres and developed at a cost of more than Rs 20,700 crore.

The sections are Sanand (North)-Makarpura, New Umbergaon-New Saphale, and New Saphale-Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA). The commissioning of these sections marks the completion of the WDFC across its entire length.

The corridor will provide direct freight connectivity to JNPA, facilitating the movement of export-import cargo between industrial centres and the port while helping reduce transit time and logistics costs and easing congestion on Mumbai’s railway network.

PM Modi will also flag off freight train services from New Sanand (North), New Makarpura, New Umbergaon, and New JNPT, Mumbai.

A new passenger train service between Vadodara and Tanda Road will also be flagged off, benefiting people in Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, and Alirajpur districts.

The Prime Minister will dedicate the Jobat-Tanda Road new railway line, developed as part of the Chhota Udepur-Dhar project, connecting remote and tribal areas of Alirajpur with the national rail network.

Three railway projects spanning 329 km and costing more than Rs 9,700 crore will also have their foundation stones laid.

These include the third and fourth lines between Vadodara and Ratlam, gauge conversion of the Miyagam Karjan-Choranda-Malsar section, and doubling of the Vishwamitri-Dabhoi section.

On the road network, foundation stones will be laid for three National Highway projects costing around Rs 1,780 crore.

The projects include six-laning of the Kamrej-Chalthan section of NH-48, additional structures including major bridges over the Tapi and Narmada on the Vadodara-Surat section of NH-48, and grade-separated structures at Abhava, Mindhola, and Khajod junctions on NH-53.

Six-lane flyovers at Kandari Chokdi and Luvara Patia will also be inaugurated. Projects of the state government worth around Rs 2,600 crore are also part of the programme, including Phase II of the Vadodara Urban Development Authority Ring Road, a 110 MW floating solar project at Kadana Dam, and a new Vadodara Municipal Corporation office.

Housing projects under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and a water-supply project covering 11 villages in eastern Vadodara are among the projects to be inaugurated.

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, public participation for the Vadodara programme was opened through free registration on BookMyShow, with the Vadodara Municipal Corporation managing registrations through the private digital platform.

Organisers said all available seats were booked within an hour, while more than 42,000 additional applicants were placed on a waiting list.

The event is also using a digital entry system, with registered participants receiving M-Tickets carrying secure live QR codes for verification.

Registration, verification, entry, and seating are being managed digitally to facilitate crowd movement at the venue.

After Vadodara, PM Modi is scheduled to travel to Mumbai, where he will inaugurate the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in the evening.

Sanaa, Sep 8: An airstrike hit a prison in Houthi-controlled Al-Jawf province in northern Yemen, causing casualties, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported, attributing the strike to the Saudi-led coalition.

The strike hit the prison in Al-Hazm, the provincial capital, on Monday (local time), the report said, adding that women and children were among the casualties.

Al-Masirah quoted the prison director as saying that 35 inmates and a woman visiting her husband remained trapped beneath the rubble.

Footage aired by al-Masirah apparently showed extensive damage to the facility and rescuers searching through debris.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting al-Masirah TV.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on social media platform X on Monday that the Saudi military operations in Yemen “will not go unanswered,” alleging that the operations included airstrikes, reconnaissance flights and the supply of weapons to Yemeni government forces.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

A UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022 expired six months later without a formal extension, but a fragile de facto ceasefire has largely held until the recent escalation.

The Houthi group announced a maritime ban on Saudi shipping in July and has since claimed attacks on Saudi tankers and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has said that recent Houthi attacks across several frontlines are “an extremely alarming development” that threatens to further expand the conflict.

In a statement posted on social media platform X on Monday (local time), Grundberg said reports of civilians killed and injured, families displaced, and civilian infrastructure damaged were “deeply troubling.”

Grundberg said a return to sustained large-scale fighting will have grave consequences for civilians and make an already difficult path toward a political settlement even harder.

He called on all parties to “cease all hostilities,” exercise maximum restraint, and use existing channels, including the UN’s Military Coordination Committee, to prevent further escalation.

The envoy said he will continue engaging directly with the parties to contain the current escalation and preserve space for dialogue, while urging regional and international actors to use their influence towards those objectives.

Lucknow, Sep 8: A fresh political controversy erupted on Tuesday, a day after an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team examined a nearly 20-foot-deep well discovered during debris removal at the site where a mosque was demolished inside the Saharanpur Collectorate premises.

The inspection was carried out on Monday to ascertain the age, nature and possible historical significance of the structure, which was discovered beneath the debris at the site on Sunday.

ASI Assistant Archaeological Officer Manoj Kumar Yadav, who arrived in Saharanpur from Lucknow to examine the structure, inspected the site and stated that the materials visible at the location were part of the effort to establish its historical character.

According to Yadav, the structure appears to resemble architectural features associated with the late-medieval period in the North and Central Ganga Valley. The well has been constructed using Lakhauri bricks and lime-surki, materials that were commonly used in structures from earlier periods.

Based on the bricks, construction pattern and techniques observed at the site, officials have estimated that the structure could be around 200 to 250 years old.

However, Yadav said that a definitive assessment would require further examination, as debris inside the structure has prevented complete verification and clear historical evidence is still being investigated.

The discovery has also led to speculation over whether the structure could have any connection with the Shahjahan period or whether it may have formed part of a temple or another religious site in the past. However, Yadav cautioned against arriving at such historical conclusions without adequate archaeological evidence and said that the available material would need to be examined before establishing the exact history of the structure.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak, speaking to reporters, said: “We will maintain law and order in Uttar Pradesh. Since the matter is before the court, it would not be appropriate to comment on it. The courts always keep options open. We are committed to maintaining law and order in Uttar Pradesh.”

Minister Narendra Kashyap said the Samajwadi Party should take note of the discovery of the well at the location where the mosque had stood and consider the circumstances surrounding the structure before questioning the demolition.

Speaking to IANS, Kashyap said, “Akhilesh Yadav should also look at the situation after the mosque was demolished. A well was found at the site where the mosque had been built. Wells have historically been one of the oldest ways of providing water to people. The well was filled in, and the mosque was built over it, and the mosque was constructed forcibly. Its demolition, carried out by following due legal procedure, should now not be questioned by Akhilesh Yadav.”

Kashyap further maintained that the demolition was carried out in accordance with the legal process and argued that the discovery of the well provided additional context to the dispute over the site. He said the matter should not be viewed separately from the legal proceedings that preceded the demolition.

Minister O.P. Rajbhar also reacted to the discovery and said the developments at the site were revealing further details.

“It has now been confirmed that the mosque was demolished following the court’s order. Now, when the well is being inspected, things are being revealed,” he said.