Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lashed out at previous governments in Tripura for allegedly forcing people of the state to live in want and poverty for decades.

The Prime Minister’s remark came in his address to a public meeting in the state where he inaugurated the New Integrated Terminal Building of Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport among other projects worth crores of rupees.

Modi also launched two flagship initiatives for the state including Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samridhi Yojana and Project Mission 100 of Vidyajyoti Schools in the State.

Speaking in the presence of Tripura Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya, Chief Minister of Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb, Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Pratima Bhoumik besides state ministers and officials, Modi began his speech by greeting the people: “Shobai Ke Nomoshkar, Shokol Ke 2022 Borsher Onek Onek Shubhechha (Namaskar to all and many, many greetings of the year 2022 to everyone).”

Prime Minister Modi said by the blessings of goddess Tripureshwari, the people of the State had gotten three gifts at the beginning of the New Year including Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samridhi Yojana and Project Mission 100 of Vidyajyoti Schools.

The New Integrated Terminal Building of Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport is built at a cost of about Rs 450 crore and is a state of art building spread over 30,000 square meters having modern facilities and supported by the latest IT network-integrated system.

Project Mission 100 of Vidyajyoti Schools seeks to improve the quality of education in the state by converting 100 existing High and Higher secondary schools to Vidyajyoti Schools with state of art facilities and quality education. The project will cover about 1.2 lakh students from Nursery to class XII and will cost around Rs 500 crores in the next three years.

Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samridhi Yojana aims to achieve the benchmark standards for service delivery in core development sectors at the village level. The key sectors selected for this Yojana are household tap connections, domestic electricity connections, all-weather roads, functional toilets for every household, recommended immunization for every child, participation of women in Self Help Groups etc.

The Prime Minister said the India of the 21st century will move forward by taking everyone along with the spirit of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Prayas. Unbalanced development where some states lag behind and people deprived of even some basic facilities is not good. This is what the people of Tripura have seen for decades, he said.

The Prime Minister recalled the times of rampant corruption and governments with no vision or intention of development of the state. After such a scenario, the Prime Minister said that the current regime came up with the Mantra of HIRA – H to Highway, I to Internet way, R to railways and A to Airways for improving the connectivity in Tripura. He added that today Tripura is strengthening and expanding connectivity on the basis of the HIRA model.

About the new airport, the Prime Minister said it is a blend of Tripura’s culture, natural beauty and modern facilities. “The airport will play a big role in enhancing air connectivity in the North East,” Modi said. The Prime MInister pointed out that work is going on in full earnest to make Tripura the gateway to the northeast. Road, rail, air and water connectivity infrastructure is getting unprecedented investment. This is turning Tripura into a new hub of business and industry as well as a trade corridor, he said.

“There is no match for a double engine government when it comes to work with double speed. A double engine government means proper use of resources, it means sensitivity and boosting the power of the people, it means service and accomplishment of resolutions, it means united effort towards prosperity,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister was all praise for Tripura’s record in taking the welfare schemes to the people. He lauded the state for launching Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samridhi Yojana which is aimed at fulfilling the Prime Minister’s vision of taking the schemes to people.

“The scheme will promote tap water for every household, housing, Ayushman coverage, insurance cover, KCC and roads leading to enhanced confidence in the rural population,” Modi said while appreciating the Chief Minister for working to change the definitions to improve the coverage of PMAY. This has resulted in 1.8 lakh families getting pucca houses of which 50 thousand houses have already been given for possession in the state.

Modi said the new National Education Policy is being implemented in the country to skill the youth who are making India modern in the 21st century. “It also lays equal emphasis on learning in the local language. Students of Tripura are now going to get help from Mission-100 and the ‘Vidya Jyoti’ campaign,” he pointed out.

“The campaign to vaccinate the youth of the 15-18 age group will ensure that there is no break in the education of the young students. This will alleviate the worries of the students and parents. In Tripura, 80 percent of the population has received the first dose and 65 percent have received both the doses of the vaccine. He expressed the hope that Tripura will soon achieve the target of vaccinating the 15-18 age group,” the Prime Minister said.

Appreciating Tripura’s efforts in providing an alternative to plastic, Prime Minister Modi said, “ Tripura can play an important role in giving the country an alternative to single-use plastic. A huge market is being created in the country for bamboo brooms, bamboo bottles products made here. With this, thousands of people are getting employment or self-employment in the manufacture of bamboo items.” He also praised the state government for its work in the field of organic farming.