September 14, 2013: PM Manmohan Singh will visit Chandigarh on Saturday, September 14 in order to attend a function in Dhanas. PM will hand over keys of 8448 apartments being allotted to slum dwellers. While this being a good act of charity, about 14 lacs Rupees have already been spent with no good use before the arrival of the PM. A helipad was built in advance expecting that PM will arrive by helicopter at Sarangpur after landing at Chandigarh Airport. However, the Prime Minister’s Office decided that he will be taken by road from Chandigarh Airport to the occasion of the function.
The traffic at various places in Chandigarh will be required to take alternate routes because of road closures in order to facilitate PM’s road journey. This includs closing off the main gate of the city’s major hospital GMSH, Sector 16. The commuters are being advised to try not to enter via the main gate of PGI because PM’s convoy may be passing by which will make the entry inaccessible, although the gate will still be open. The city residents may still remember that in 2011 when the PM had visited Chandigarh, a patient near PGI died because she couldn’t be taken to the ICU due to closed roads.
More than 10 traffic light points will remain closed in the city. Over 300 police personnel are being deployed to facilitate PM”s visit.