Jammu, Apr 24 (IANS): During his first visit to J&K on Sunday since the abrogation of Article 370, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came with a treasure trove of developmental packages for the people of the union territory.

Modi laid the foundation of developmental projects worth over Rs 20,000 crore as he rightly told the mammoth gathering at Palli village in Samba district, "I am here with a message of development. To give speed to development in J&K, projects worth over Rs 20,000 crore have been inaugurated today."

During the visit, Modi also launched the 'Amrit Sarovar Mission' and transferred the amount of the National Panchayat Award into the bank accounts of the winning Panchayats.

He laid the foundation stone of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway and inaugurated the 500KW Solar Power Plant at Palli village along with 108 Jan Aushadhi Kendras in J&K.

He also laid the foundation stones for the 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project & 540 MW Kwar Hydroelectric Project to be constructed on the Chenab river in Kishtwar District.

The Prime Minister inaugurated the Amrit Sarovar initiative which marks a special moment in the collective endeavours to rejuvenate water bodies and conserve every drop of water. Under this initiative, 75 water bodies will be developed and rejuvenated in each district.

He inaugurated the Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel which has been built at a cost of over Rs 3,100 crore. The 8.45-km long tunnel would reduce the road distance between Banihal and Qazigund by 16 km, and reduces the journey time by around one-and-a-half hours.

Accompanied by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, Modi visited INTACH photo gallery set up at Palli village.