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Focus on physical, digital, social infra in N-E, says PM
Drawing an analogy to the ongoing football World Cup in Qatar during his address in Shillong, Prime Minister Modi said that obstacles to development in the North-east have been removed by the government at the Centre by showing the red card.
Obstacles to development in the North-east have been removed through dedicated efforts of the central government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday as he visited Meghalaya and Tripura, which go to the polls next year.
On a day-long trip to the two states, the Prime Minister attended the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong, launched several projects, and addressed a public meeting. He later visited Agartala to inaugurate other developmental projects and addressed another gathering.
Drawing an analogy to the ongoing football World Cup in Qatar during his address in Shillong, Prime Minister Modi said that obstacles to development in the North-east have been removed by the government at the Centre by showing the red card. He added that it was coincidental that the function was happening on a football field on the very day when the football World Cup was culminating.
“On the one hand, there is a football competition going on, while here we are leading the competition of development in the football field. Even though the Football World Cup is taking place in Qatar, the enthusiasm of the people here is no less,” he remarked. “Be it corruption, discrimination, nepotism, violence or vote-bank politics to disrupt development in the region, we are working with dedication and honesty to uproot all these evils.”
Modi said that the Centre has now evolved from “Look East” and “Act East policies”, to “Act Fast for Northeast” and “Act First for Northeast”.
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“The North-east is our gateway to South-East Asia and can become a centre for development of the entire region. And to realise this potential of the region, work is going on the projects like Indian-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and Agartala-Akhaura rail project,” he said at the NEC function attended by Union ministers, chief ministers of the North-east states and top government officials.
“Our double-engine government’s focus is on improving physical, digital and social infrastructure in the North-east.”
NEC, which is under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Development of the North-Eastern Region (MDoNER), was formally inaugurated on November 7, 1972, and has played a key role in the socio-economic development of the North-east through various infrastructure projects and other development initiatives. Originally consisting of the seven states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, Sikkim was included as the eighth member state through the NEC (Amendment) Act, 2002 (68 of 2002).
At the event, the Prime Minister digitally inaugurated projects worth ₹2,450 crore for Meghalaya, which included 4G mobile towers to boost telecom connectivity in the region and the new campus of IIM-Shillong at Umsawli and Shillong-Diengpasoh Road. Modi also inaugurated four other road projects across three states -- Meghalaya, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh.
Boosting connectivity projects, according to the PM, was the key ingredient towards making the region achieve its near full potential as a start.
“Many North-eastern states have come to the railway map for the first time and efforts are being done to expand the waterways also. The length of national highways has increased by 50% since 2014 in the region,” he said, and added that the government was spending ₹7 lakh crore only on infrastructure this year, while 8 years ago, this expenditure was less than ₹2 lakh crore.
Later in the day, the PM visited Agartala, where he launched a slew of developmental projects worth ₹4,350 crore. In his address at Swami Vivekananda Stadium at Agartala, the PM said that Tripura was emerging as an international trade gateway and logistics hub of the North-east due to developments ushered by the double-engine governments of the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and in the state.
“Scope of trade relations would open with the introduction of the Agartala-Akhaura railway line. In this way, the North-east is developing its connectivity and relations by connecting India, Myanmar and Thailand through roadways,” Modi said.
“Our focus is on all-round development of Tripura. Projects that are launched today will give fillip to the state’s growth trajectory. We have allocated thousands of crores rupees for development of infrastructures and connectivity. The Tripura government under Dr Manik Saha and his team is working for proper implementation of these projects,” he added.
Modi laid foundation stone for several projects including construction of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, joined “griha pravesh” of over 200,000 beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and launched Tripura State Institute of Hotel Management at Anandanagar and Agartala Government Dental College at Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) Hospital.
In an oblique reference to the Opposition, he said that those who are involved in opportunistic politics and deprived the state to serve their own interests are harming interests of the youth, farmers and women.
In the poll-bound North-eastern states, while the BJP is a minor partner of the ruling coalition headed by National Peoples Party in Meghalaya, in Tripura, it is the main ruling party of the coalition where Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) is also a part.
(With agency inputs)
