Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Chennai for a one-day visit to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during which he is scheduled to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for projects collectively worth Rs 70 billion (bn). The itinerary included a visit to the Arulmigu Subramanyaswamy Temple in Thiruparankundram where he offered prayers before official engagements. Officials said the programmes will span urban infrastructure, transport and industrial development across both jurisdictions. Security was intensified and drone operations were banned in key areas during the visit. He was received at Chennai International Airport by the Governor, union and state ministers and senior party leaders as organisers from alliance parties coordinated arrangements. Organisers indicated that a conference in Madurai would include alliance leaders and that venue displays would feature images of former chief ministers alongside party symbols. A recent dispute over the display at the venue was resolved by replacing the contested image with the party's lotus symbol. In Puducherry he was to lay the foundation stone for 74 projects valued at Rs 15.71 bn and to inaugurate 19 completed works worth Rs 11.42 bn, officials said, with initiatives covering urban infrastructure, rural roads, water supply and sanitation. The projects include works under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment scheme, mangrove restoration under the MISHTI programme and water supply schemes funded by Agence Française de Développement. Officials also noted the launch of e-buses under the PM e-Bus Seva initiative among scheduled dedications. In Tamil Nadu he was to dedicate projects worth Rs 44 bn in Madurai and to open the Chennai Beach-Chennai Egmore fourth railway line while inaugurating eight redeveloped railway stations across the state. Foundation stones were to be laid for the four-laning of the Marakkanam-Puducherry section of NH-332A and the Paramakudi-Ramanathapuram section of NH-87. The 750-acre Karasur-Sedarapet Industrial Estate was to be dedicated as the Union Territory's first Special Economic Zone, expected to house a pharma park, textile and IT parks, an R&D centre of IIT Madras and facilities of JIPMER and to generate employment for over 40,000 people.