Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled development projects worth ₹17,500 crore in Assam on March 9.
The PM unveiled the projects strengthening the health, oil and gas, railway and housing sectors at a function in Jorhat.
He laid the foundation stone of projects under the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North Eastern Region (PM-DevINE) scheme. Among these projects are a Medical College and Hospital at Sivasagar and a Hemato-Lymphoid Centre in Guwahati.
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He also laid the foundation stone for the capacity expansions of the Digboi Refinery from 0.65 to 1 mmtpa and Guwahati Refinery from 1.0 to 1.2 mmtpa, among others.
Mr. Modi inaugurated a new medical college and hospital at Tinsukia and the 718-km-long Barauni- Guwahati Pipeline, built at a cost of about ₹3,992 crore.
He also inaugurated about 5.5 lakh homes under PM Awas Yojana-Gramin, constructed at a cost of about ₹8,450 crore.
The PM also inaugurated railway projects worth more than ₹1,300 crore in the State. Among these were the Dhupdhara-Chhaygaon section of the New Bongaigaon-Guwahati via Goalpara doubling project and the New Bongaigaon-Sorbhog section of the New Bongaigaon–Agthori doubling project.
125-foot statue of Lachit Borphukan
The Prime Minister also unveiled a 125-foot bronze statue of ‘Ahom general’ Lachit Borphukan in Jorhat.
The ‘Statue of Valour’ was unveiled by the PM at the Lachit Barphukan Maidam Development Project at Hollongapar near Teok.
Mr. Modi, who reached Jorhat from Arunachal Pradesh by helicopter, was dressed in traditional attire and headgear.
He participated in an Ahom ritual for the unveiling of the statue.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accompanied him during the programme.
The height of the statute, built by Ram Vanji Sutar, is 84 feet and it is set on a pedestal of 41 feet, making the structure 125 feet tall.
The foundation of the statue was laid by former President Ram Nath Kovind in February 2022.
Lachit Borphukan was a legendary army commander of the Ahom kingdom (1228-1826).
He is known for his leadership in the 1671 ‘Battle of Saraighat’ that thwarted a drawn-out attempt by the mighty Mughal forces, led by Raja Ramsingh-I, to take back Assam.
‘Congress ignored development of Northeast’
Asserting that the Northeast’s development is crucial to fulfilling the objective of ‘Viksit Bharat’, Mr. Modi accused the Congress of ignoring the region for decades.
Addressing a public meeting at Meleng Meteli Pothar in Jorhat, after unveiling projects worth ₹17,500 crore in Assam, he said heritage and development was the “mantra of double-engine government”.
He also alleged that the Congress Government’s “insensitive and unplanned conservation strategy” led to poaching in the Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Around 27 rhinos were killed in 2013 but the number of such poaching incidents came down to zero in 2022 due to the NDA government’s policies, he said.
