SHILLONG, Dec 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the work to connect all the capitals of the North East, including Shillong with rail service is going at a fast pace.
Addressing a public function as part of golden jubilee celebrations of North Eastern Council (NEC) at Polo Ground here on Sunday, Prime Minister said that the increase in number of weekly flights from 900 before 2014 to 1900 currently.
“Under the UDAN scheme, flights are operating on 16 routes in Meghalaya and the result is cheap airfares for the people of Meghalaya,” Modi said.
He further stated that the fruits and vegetables grown here are easily accessible to the markets of the country and abroad through the Krishi Udan scheme.
He informed that the Centre spent Rs 5,000 crore in the past eight years for the construction of national highways in Meghalaya. According to him, the construction of roads in the state through Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana has increased by seven times of what was built in the previous 20 years.
“The optical fibre coverage in the NE increased by four times and by five times in Meghalaya. To increase mobile connectivity and network, 6,000 new mobile towers are being erected and Rs 5,000 crore is being invested towards the initiative,” Modi said. In his speech, the PM gave the example of Parvatmala scheme, which is building a network of ropeways across the region, including Meghalaya.
Push for promotion of Hindi
The Centre is planning to popularise and promote Hindi language in the Northeastern region.
The NEC has taken up the initiative of supporting state universities and government colleges in the region by sanctioning Rs 10 lakh each for setting up of Hindi libraries.
The PM inaugurated as many as 21 Hindi libraries in four states in the first phase on Sunday.
A senior official informed that four states have been given grants for 21 Hindi libraries including ten in Manipur, six in Tripura, three in Mizoram and two in Assam. Other states will be covered in the future, an NEC official said.
