Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled a bouquet of development projects in Assam, assuring the people of the state that their voice was being heard at the Centre. The trip comes ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.
He dedicated to the nation important projects of the oil and gas sector at a public event in Dhemaji. The projects of the oil and gas sector include INDMAX Unit at Indian Oil’s Bongaigaon Refinery, Oil India Limited's Secondary Tank Farm at Madhuban, Dibrugarh and a Gas Compressor Station in Tinsukia.
“These projects will usher in an era of energy security and prosperity, and open more job opportunities for the local youth, the PM said at the function.
He also inaugurated the Rs 44.98 crore Dhemaji Engineering College and laid the foundation stone for Rs 54.71 crore Sualkuchi Engineering College.
The Prime Minister said that the construction of the four-lane national highway that was underway in the state would enhance connectivity to the state and the country’s North-east region.
"Delhi is now not far from Dispur, Delhi is at your doorstep," he remarked. Addressing a rally, PM Modi said that the Centre and Assam government are working collaboratively for balanced development of Assam and North East. "Previous governments adopted a "step-motherly" approach to Assam's North Bank and neglected connectivity, health, education and industry," he said in Dhemaji.
The Prime Minister said that before the BJP came to power in 2014 only 40% of Assam households had cooking gas connections. Now with the government’s Ujjwala scheme being implemented the figure of households with LPG connections was nearing 100%. He pointed out that in the latest union budget the government had provided funds for another 1 crore free LPG connections for poor households under the Ujjwala scheme.
Similarly before the BJP came to power, Assam had the largest number of villages without electricity in the country, the situation has now changed and the government has ensured that power is now available in most of the villages.
The fertiliser manufacturing units, too, were in a dismal state earlier and most of them were either closed or on the verge of collapse as a result of which small farmers and the poor were facing immense hardships. The BJP government has now revived these units so that more fertilisers are now available to farmers to increase production and income, he added.
Reaching out to the masses, he said without basic essentials such as electricity and fertiliser it was the poor that was the hardest hit.
He said his government has been working to remove the hurdles in the path of development created by the earlier government . The situation was now undergoing a sea change to usher in more development and progress in the state.
Governor and Chief Minister of Assam, and Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas were present on the occasion.
West Bengal trip
PM Modi will also visit West Bengal later in the day for the launch of several projects and will also address public rallies in the state that will hold elections in a few months. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who of late has been at odds with the Prime Minister in the run-up to the upcoming Assembly polls, will not attend the event.
In the poll-bound state, where he will be visiting for the second time this month, the PM will dedicate to the nation and inaugurate several railway projects in Hooghly, his office said.
Prime Minister will inaugurate the extension of Metro Railway from Noapara to Dakshineswar, and flag off the first service on this stretch in West Bengal. This 4.1 km extension has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 464 crore, fully funded by the Central government.
As per the statement, the extension will decongest road traffic and improve urban mobility and also ease out access to the two world-famous Kali Temples at Kalighat and Dakshineswar, for lakhs of tourists and devotees.
Prime Minister will also inaugurate the third line between Kalaikunda and Jhargram over a stretch of 30 km of the 132 km long Kharagpur-Adityapur Third Line Project of South Eastern Railway, which was sanctioned with an estimated cost of Rs. 1312 crores.
PM Modi is also scheduled to dedicate to the nation the doubling of Azimganj to Khargraghat Road section, which is a part of Howrah–Bandel–Azimganj section of Eastern Railway, which has been laid at a project cost of about Rs 240 crore.
He will also inaugurate the fourth line between Dankuni and Baruipara (11.28 kms) of Howrah – Bardhaman Chord Line and the third line between Rasulpur and Magra (42.42 kms) of Howrah – Bardhaman Main Line, which serves as principal gateway of Kolkata.
These projects will ensure better operational fluidity, less journey time and enhanced safety of train operations, as well as boost the overall economic growth of the region, the official statement said.
