Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, laid the foundation stone and inaugurated and dedicated to the nation multiple projects worth over Rs 2,450 crore in Shillong. Speaking on the occasion, Modi said the Centre has shown the red card to all obstacles that came in the way of development of the North East.
The projects inaugurated by the prime minister today include the inauguration of 320 completed and 890 under-construction 4G mobile towers, the new campus of IIM Shillong, at Umsawli, the Shillong – Diengpasoh Road which will provide better connectivity to new Shillong satellite townships and four other road projects across three northeastern states viz Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion, Modi said the North East is a gateway to security and prosperity instead of just a border area at the frontier. He elaborated on the vibrant village scheme under which border villages are being provided with better facilities.
The Prime Minister lamented that due to the fear of benefiting the enemy, the border areas did not witness the spread of connectivity.
“Today we are boldly building new roads, new tunnels, new bridges, new railway lines, and airstrips on the border. Desolated border villages are being turned vibrant. The speed needed for our cities is needed for our border too,” he said.
Reflecting on the ‘divide’ approach of the previous ruling governments for the North East, the Prime Minister remarked that our government has come up with ‘divine’ intentions.
“Be it different communities, or different regions, we are removing all kinds of divisions. Today, in the North East, we are laying emphasis on building corridors of development, not borders of disputes,” he said.
The Prime Minister observed that in the last eight years, many organisations have shunned the path of violence and have taken refuge in permanent peace. Speaking about the needlessness for AFSPA in the North East, the Prime Minister remarked that the conditions are constantly improving with the help of the state governments while boundary disputes between the states which were going on for decades are being resolved.
He informed that the central government is spending Rs 7 lakh crore only on infrastructure this year, while eight years ago this expenditure was less than Rs 2 lakh crore. He also pointed out that states are competing within themselves when it comes to boosting infrastructure.
The Prime Minister drew everyone’s attention to the coincidence that the public function of today is taking place on a football field at the time when the football world cup is going on.
“On the one hand, there is 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.
Drawing an analogy to the red card shown in football to a person who goes against the sportsman spirit, the Prime Minister remarked that the government has shown the red card to all the obstacles that came in the way of the development of North East.
“Be it corruption, discrimination, nepotism, violence or vote-bank politics to disrupt the development in the region, we are working with dedication and honesty to uproot all these evils,” Modi remarked.
The Prime Minister pointed out that even though such evils are deeply rooted, we have to work towards eliminating each one of them. He further added that the efforts of the government are showing positive results.
He said the development of tribal areas is the priority of the government while maintaining the tradition, language and culture of the tribal society. Giving the example of abolishing the ban on bamboo harvesting, the Prime Minister informed that it gave impetus to the manufacture of tribal products associated with bamboo. “850 Van Dhan Kendras have been established in the North East for value addition in the produce obtained from forests. Many self-help groups are associated with them, many of which belong to our sisters,” he informed.
Giving examples of infrastructural developments in the North East, the Prime Minister highlighted the fast-paced work to connect all the capitals of the North East including Shillong with rail service and the increase in number of weekly flights from 900 before 2014 to 1900 today.
He informed that under the UDAN scheme, flights are on 16 routes in Meghalaya and the result is cheap airfares for the people of Meghalaya. Highlighting the benefits to the farmers of Meghalaya and North East, the Prime Minister informed that the fruits and vegetables grown here are easily accessible to the markets of the country and abroad through the Krishi Udaan scheme.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister remarked that Meghalaya is a state that is prosperous in nature and culture and this very prosperity is reflected through the warmth and welcoming nature of the people. He congratulated the citizens of Meghalaya for the numerous upcoming and newly inaugurated projects ranging from connectivity, education, skill and employment for further development in the state.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister attended the meeting of the North Eastern Council at the State Convention Centre in Shillong and participated in its golden jubilee celebrations.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated Spawn Laboratory at Mushroom Development Center and Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre in Meghalaya and 21 Hindi libraries in Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Assam. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of six road projects across the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. He also laid the foundation stone of the Integrated Hospitality and Convention Centre at Tura and Shillong Technology Park Phase-II.