PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched projects worth Rs 18,530 crore in Assam, including the world’s first bio-ethanol plant using bamboo as raw material, along with major health and infrastructure projects at programmes in Darrang and Golaghat districts. In Darrang district’s Mangaldoi town, the PM laid foundation stones for three major projects with an investment of Rs 6,300 crore. These include the Darrang Medical College and Hospital, along with a GNM school and nursing college at a cost of Rs 570 crore, the Guwahati Ring Road (Rs 4,530 crore) and the Kuruwa-Narengi bridge over Brahmaputra (Rs 1,200 crore), officials said. The PM, after inaugurating the projects, said that his Government is working with the vision of making Assam a growth engine of India’s development. “Both the Union and State Governments are developing Assam as one of the most connected States and as a leading healthcare hub.

 

These projects will further strengthen our resolve,” he said. The Darrang Medical College will be the 24th such facility in the State and will admit 100 students each year into the MBBS programme. The 121.43 km Guwahati Ring Road, divided into three sections, will decongest the capital city and ease the movement of vehicles, including trucks from West Bengal, Bihar, and other States. The 55 km-long first section will stretch from Baihata Chariali to Sonapur via Kuruwa and Chandrapur. It will include a four-lane road along with several six-lane bridges, including the 2.9 km Kuruwa-Narengi bridge over the Brahmaputra, as well as five other bridges, three flyovers, and three road over-bridges. The second section will see the upgrade of the existing four-lane road into a six-lane stretch from Jayanagar underpass on NH-27 to Jorabat and will feature two flyovers.

 

The third section will upgrade the four and six-lane road of National Highway 27 from Baihata to Sonapur. In Golaghat district, the PM inaugurated a Rs 5,000-crore bamboo-based ethanol plant and laid the foundation stone for the Rs 7,230-crore Petro Fluidised Catalytic Cracker Unit at the Numaligarh Refinery. The “world’s first, second-generation” bioethanol plant is a ‘zero-waste’ facility, which will utilise all parts of the bamboo plant, and is expected to give a Rs 200-crore boost to the rural economy in the State, officials said. The project will produce around 49,000 tons of ethanol annually and also generate other valuable products such as furfural, acetic acid, carbon dioxide, and bio-coal. Ethanol is a major alternative source of energy, and the newly inaugurated bioethanol refinery will significantly benefit farmers and tribals, the PM said.

 

This will expedite Assam’s endeavour of becoming self-reliant and one of the most developed States of the country, he added. The cracker unit with a capacity of 360 KTPA will boost domestic petrochemical production, reduce dependence on imports, and benefit the economy, the PM said. The project will use world-class technology and is scheduled to start production in 2028. Modi said energy and semiconductors were the two key drivers for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, and Assam has an important role to play in these sectors.

 

 

 

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged that the Congress, instead of supporting the country’s Army, was backing terrorists groomed by Pakistan. Addressing a programme at Mangaldoi in Assam’s Darrang district, he accused the grand old party of “protecting” infiltrators and anti-national forces. The Prime Minister also asserted that the BJP would “not allow infiltrators to grab land and conspire to change the demography”. “The Congress, instead of supporting the Indian Army, backs terrorists groomed by Pakistan. During ‘Operation Sindoor’, the Congress, instead of supporting our Armed Forces, which destroyed the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, was engaged in protecting infiltrators and anti-national forces,” the PM alleged, while addressing the public meeting. ‘Operation Sindoor’ was successful due to Ma Kamakhya’s blessings, Modi said, adding that he was honoured to be present on this sacred land. The PM claimed that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had on Saturday night shown him a video in which a former Congress President was seen saying that the “BJP was honouring singers and dancers”.

 

The Congress leader’s comment came after the BJP had bestowed the Bharat Ratna on Bhupen Hazarika in 2019, Modi said. “The wounds inflicted by Jawaharlal Nehru, during the Chinese aggression in 1962, on the people of Assam are yet to heal, but this insult to Bhupen Hazarika is like adding salt to the wound,” the Prime Minister claimed. “I am pained by this insult to Bhupen da, but people are my masters and they will answer whether the BJP was right or not in conferring the Bharat Ratna on the legendary singer,” Modi said. People should also ask the Congress why its leaders “insulted a legend like Bhupen Hazarika”, the PM said. The BJP’s double-engine Government is committed to realising the dreams of Assam’s great sons like Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika, he said. The term double engine is used by BJP leaders to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a State. Modi also praised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for “evicting infiltrators from encroached land and ensuring that farmers can now cultivate on these plots”. The land parcels once illegally occupied are now witnessing an agricultural revolution in the hands of farmers and indigenous people, he claimed. “The BJP will not allow infiltrators to grab land, insult women and girls, and conspire to change demography, which is a threat to national security,” he said.

 

“‘Mukabla ho jai’ (let there be a fight) in protecting Assam from infiltrators who are protected by certain sections of the society, and I challenge them as the BJP will not allow this (infiltration),” Modi said. The Prime Minister also said, “There are conspiracies to alter the demography in the border regions through infiltration, and this poses a serious threat to national security; therefore, a nationwide Demography Mission is now being launched.” He said that the Congress had ruled Assam for decades, but built “only three bridges” over the Brahmaputra river, while the BJP-led dispensation constructed six such structures in the last 10 years.

 

The PM asserted that India was emerging as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and said that Assam’s growth rate was 13 per cent. “This was achieved due to the efforts of the double-engine Government. The Centre and the state Government are developing Assam as a health hub. The Northeast has a big role to play in achieving the ‘Viksit Bharat’ dream,” the PM said. Modi also claimed, “Today, the entire nation is moving forward in unity to build a developed India, and for our citizens, a developed India is both a dream and a resolve which we will fulfill.” The BJP-led Government at the Centre has been focusing on connectivity in the Northeast, which has helped businesses and created employment opportunities for youth, he said. “Rapid development in any region requires robust connectivity, and our Government is committed to enhancing seamless multimodal connectivity in the North East,” he said. The PM said that 25 years of the 21st century have passed, and the next chapter of this century “belongs to the East and the North East”. Modi urged people to buy ‘swadeshi’ goods for the development of the country and the bright future of their children.

 

The PM halted his speech on several occasions and directed the SPG officials to collect paintings of him and his mother from those who wanted to give these as gifts. He thanked them from the dais and asked them to write their names and address on the back of the paintings, promising to write a letter to them. The Prime Minister also asked people not to harass a specially abled person who was trying to hand over a letter to him. During the programme, Modi laid the foundation stones for health and infrastructure projects worth Rs 6,300 crore at Mangaldoi. He launched the construction of Darrang Medical College and Hospital, along with a nursing college and a GNM school. The combined investment in these healthcare projects is worth Rs 570 crore, officials said. The PM also laid the foundation stones for the 2.9 km-long Narengi-Kuruwa bridge with an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore and the 118.5 km-long Guwahati Ring Road project, connecting Kamrup and Darrang districts in Assam and Ri Bhoi in Meghalaya. The cost for the Ring Road project was estimated at Rs 4,530 crore.