PUNE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Pune in Maharashtra on Thursday was cancelled due to the heavy rain situation in the city, officials said.
Modi was to flag off the Metro train line from District Court to Swargate in Pune and launch development projects of Rs 22,600 crore, ahead of the state assembly elections. BJP sources confirmed that the PM's visit to Pune was cancelled. The new date for his visit will be announced later.
After heavy rains on Wednesday evening, the SP College ground, the venue of PM Modi's programme, had muddy pools.
The MeT department has issued a warning of heavy showers in Pune and Mumbai for Thursday.
"The PM's visit to Pune has been cancelled and the programme officially postponed," Pune divisional commissioner Chandrakant Pulkundwar said.
Maha-Metro spokesperson Hemant Sonawane said, "The programme has been cancelled due to the orange alert (for heavy rains) issued for Thursday by the IMD. If there are rains, people coming for the programme may face hassles, so for the safety of the people, the programme has been cancelled."
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday visited the SP College ground and said arrangements were being made to ensure nobody is inconvenienced.