Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated Sela Tunnel and unveiled the “UNNATI scheme” valued at about ₹10,000 crore. The prime minister also laid the foundation stone of several development projects in the Northeast.
“…Today, I got the opportunity to be a part of all the Northeastern states in this festival of a developed Northeast,” Modi said while addressing a gathering in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.
Refering to the eight northeastern states — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, the PM said that his government has a vision of ‘Ashta Lakshmi’ development of the region.
“Our vision is that of ‘Ashta Lakshmi’ for the development of the Northeast. Our Northeast is becoming a strong link for trade and tourism with South Asia and East Asia,” he said.
The prime minister also mentioned his ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ poll plank and said the strategic Sela Tunnel is a proof of that.
“You must have heard of ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’. You will realize its meaning once you reach Arunachal. The entire Northeast is a witness to this. I laid the foundation of the Sela Tunnel here in 2019, and today it has been inaugurated…” the PM told a gathering of hundreds of people.
“Today, many projects associated with boosting connectivity in Northeast have been inaugurated. Electricity, water, roads, rails, schools, hospitals, tourism…countless such projects of infrastructure development have come here as ‘Guarantees of Viksit Northeast’,” he told.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister embarked on a jungle safari in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. He took an elephant ride in the Mihimukh area of the Central Kohora Range of the park and fed sugarcane to them.
“Sharing pictures of the “unparalleled beauty of Kaziranga landscapes” on ‘X’, Modi said, “Feeding sugar cane to Lakhimai, Pradyumna and Phoolmai. Kaziranga is known for the rhinos but there are also large number of elephants there, along with several other species.”