Bhupen Goswami
GUWAHATI : Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal called upon the people of Arunachal Pradesh and the Northeast to join in the journey of “building a strong, prosperous New India”. The minister said the full and unwavering commitment shown by the government for the upliftment of the North East has also resulted in lasting peace and its economic revival in the region”. “Arunachal Pradesh’s role is crucial to the role of northeast as an engine of development in new India. The minister was addressing a press conference after visiting the Regional Ayurveda Research Institute (RARI) in Itanagar today. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal today hit out at the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, saying it never focused on the development of the north-eastern region with wide potential. He claimed that if there has been a change at the Centre, it has happened after the Narendra Modi-led government came to power.
“The Congress government, while in power, never gave importance to the development of the North-Eastern region, due to which the region remained devoid of development despite its huge potential, but since the BJP government came to power, the North Eastern regions were developed and it connected all the states with the national capital. Union Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal attacked the Congress, alleging that despite being in power in Delhi and Dispur for 55 years, the party failed to take Assam in the right direction of development. The Congress government ruled Delhi and Dispur for 55 years but failed miserably to accelerate the development momentum of the state. Therefore, the Narendra Modi-led bjp government has put forward four agendas of corruption-free, foreign-free, pollution-free, terrorism-free state and has been given more importance in implementing it continuously. He said that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre has been serving the nation for eight years.
Mentioning that the Prime Minister has paid special attention to the connectivity of the North-Eastern Region. “In the last few years, the BJP government has strengthened the ‘connectivity’ of the North Eastern Region by connecting it by rail, air, road and waterways and now the Trans Arunachal Highway is being connected to every district headquarters in the state. Highlighting the many schemes run by the Modi government, he said beneficiaries of the North-Eastern region have availed of many welfare schemes of the government. He also claimed that in the last eight years, the Centre has given Rs 2,63,000 crore for the development of the North Eastern Region. He said that more than 2.20 lakh rural households in Arunachal Pradesh have got tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission. With over 34,500 houses in Arunachal Pradesh, the PM Awas Yojana has helped the people of the state earn a shelter they can call their home, he said. Under the Ujjwala Scheme, more than 48,000 LPG connections were given to the needy people of Arunachal Pradesh.
The government continues to work with its welfare programmes to make the lives of citizens comfortable and respectful. Highlighting the role of the Northeast as india’s new engine of development, the minister said connectivity within the northeast has become quite efficient in the last eight years. He said the focused approach to create inter-state and inter-regional connectivity in the Northeast and its states has boosted connectivity in logistics and transport. Sonowal said schemes like Udaan have given wings to the aspirations of the people of the Northeast. The first commercial flights between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh using Made in India Dornier aircraft is a major step in the region. He said the flights connect Dibrugarh-Pasighat and Tezu-Lilabari sectors.
