Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of 19 projects worth over Rs 7,300 crore at Churachandpur and assured the people of Manipur that he ‘’is with them (people of Manipur).’’The projects include Manipur Urban Roads, drainage and asset management improvement project worth over Rs 3,600 crore, 5 National Highway projects worth more than Rs 2,500 crore, Manipur Infotech Development (MIND) project, Working Women Hostels at 9 locations, among others.
Addressing a public meeting he said the land of Manipur is a land of bravery, hills a gift of nature. He appealed to the people to work for peace and assured them that he is with the people of Manipur.He lauded the people of Manipur for coming out in huge numbers in spite of the rain and said he was lucky to see people sharing love and waving the tricolour during the journey from Imphal to Churachandpur.
The new projects will improve health and education. Manipur is a border state and connectivity is always a challenge and due to absence of good roads people are suffering. Since 2014 the government has worked to increase road and rail projects and increase the budget manifold, the Prime Minister added.
He said the Government has spent more than Rs 3000 cr on the national highways and it was difficult to reach villages earlier and now all roads are connected in the hill areas and it benefits the tribal population, he added.Jiribam to Imphal rail line will be completed soon and the government will spent 22000 cr. Imphal airport will be improved and helicopter services have also started from Imphal airport, he added.
He said new job opportunities are coming up and the nation will have the third strongest economy in the world. There was a time when announcements were made from New Delhi and it took ages to reach the destination. Churachandpur is progressing and houses for the poor and about 7000 houses were constructed in Manipur. Now in Manipur there is no electricity problem and over 1 lakh families were given free electricity connection, he added.
Over 3.5 lakh people in Manipur are getting water connection and soon every family will have water connection.The Prime Minister could not travel by air to Churachandpur so he travelled by road about 62 km from Imphal airport. He interacted with internally displaced people at Churachandpur and proceeded to address the public gathering. A short video showing the projects was also shown.
Health schemes are given to poor families upto Rs 5 lakh and 2.5 lakh people from Manipur were benefitted from the PM health scheme, he added.Government of India is with the people and to bring back normalcy, the government is taking up works to construct 7000 new houses. ‘’The government knows the aspirations of tribal people and local bodies will be strengthened and funds will be provided. It is the vision of the country to develop tribal areas and 500 villages will be benefitted in Manipur.
Eighteen Eklavya model schools will be developed in Manipur to provide good education system. To encourage Manipur’s women and culture the government is constructing working women culture. The Government is working for Peace, progress and prosperity of Manipur, he said and added that the centre will continue to help the Manipur government all assistance.
Churachandpur is a symbol of unity and has contributed to social and economic development of Manipur and the country, Manipur Governor AK Bhalla said. Today is the time for healing and dialogue, he added. Three phases programme have been taken up to enable IDP to return to their homes the Governor said. We should not allow illegal immigrants to encroach on our land he added.The PM will proceed to Imphal and address another public meeting.(UNI)
