Flagging off Meghalaya's first train and laying the foundation for the Bhairabi-Sairang broad gauge rail line in Mizoram here on Saturday, Modi resorted to ancient Indian design principles to highlight the northeast's importance in his government's scheme of things.
"Those who believe in Vastu Shastra know that the 'ishan kon' of a house should be taken care of. Likewise, the northeast should be developed for the progress of the country. The northeast (comprising eight states) is the 'Asta Lakshmi' (eight goddesses of wealth and prosperity). Proper connectivity and infrastructure will transform the northeast into a region of prosperity," Modi said.
He took a dig at the previous UPA government's 'failure' to capitalize on the northeast's potential.
"When the right infrastructure is in place, development follows. South Korea transformed itself from a poor nation to a prosperous one because of adequate infrastructure. Here, in India, the Commonwealth Games held a few years ago brought shame and embarrassment," Modi said, referring to the CWG scam during the UPA's regime.
"The whole of India will look at the northeast as a tourism destination if you have proper infrastructure in place. Youths from the region will no longer have to travel to other states for jobs. Prosperity will reign in the northeast. Connectivity via railways is high on our priority list. Hence, we have earmarked Rs 28,000 crore for various rail projects in the region," Modi added. He talked about creating information "highways", along with road highways, in the northeast to make "digital India" an all-encompassing and inclusive concept.
Apart from railway minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and his Meghalaya and Mizoram counterparts, Mukul Sangma and Lal Thanhawla, respectively, were present at the function.
Assam governor J B Patnaik, Meghalaya governor Krishna Kant Paul, Union MoS for home Kiren Rijiju and Union MoS for sports Sarbananda Sonowal were also present at the event.
Modi flagged off the first passenger train from Mendipathar in Meghalaya by remote control from the North East Frontier Railway (NFR) headquarters at Maligaon in Assam. With this, Meghalaya entered the railway grid of the country. The Dudhnoi-Mendipathar rail line moves from Assam's Goalpara district to Mendipathar in North Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. Nagaland, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh are already on the country's railway map, while work along the Jiribum- Tupul track in Manipur is on.
In Mizoram, the 1.5-km, meter-gauge line up to Bhairabi is being converted. When completed, the Bhairabi-Sairang rail line will cover 51.38 km, touching Kolasib and Aizawl districts of Mizoram.
Modi said he wanted 100% private investment in the railway sector to improve and modernize its services in the country. "We want both horizontal and vertical expansion of railways to make this sector the backbone of our economy in a very real sense. We want private parties to invest in railway stations so that they have facilities and services at par with airports," Modi said here on Saturday. He said railway universities will be set up in four parts of the country to teach all aspects of the sector.
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