Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma felicitates PM Modi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Hinting towards the Congress rule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said governments post-Independence developed a tendency of being ashamed of the holy places and the ancient civilization for political gains.
"Our pilgrimage sites and temples symbolise an indelible mark of our civilization over thousands of years, showcasing how Bharat has held on to every crisis it has faced. We have witnessed how the civilizations which were considered to be prosperous in the past, now stand in ruins. But unfortunately, post-independence governments developed a trend of being ashamed of one’s own culture and identity for political gains. It has been rectified in the past 10 years with the help of policies focusing on both ‘Vikas’ (development) and ‘Virasat’ (heritage)," Modi said after laying the foundation for a Rs 498 crore project to augment amenities in the premises of the historic Kamakhya temple in Guwahati.
Modi virtually laid the foundation from a playground at Khanapara in Guwahati, situated about 15kms away. The PM inaugurated four laning of two national highway projects and laid foundations of projects worth Rs 11,600 crores in Assam. Those included Rs 3,250 crore project to upgrade infrastructure of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Rs 832 crore project to upgrade facilities in the Nehru sports complex in Guwahati, a medical college at Karimganj, Rs 358 crores for widening of a road connecting LGBI airport in Guwahati, a Unity Mall, beside others.
Modi said that connecting the historical and spiritual places with modern amenities is part of his government's efforts for preserving the sites and accelerating development.
Talking about the benefits after development of Kashi Corridor at Varanasi, Modi said," “In the past year, 8.50 crore pilgrims have visited Kashi, more than five crore visited Mahakal Lok in Ujjain, and more than 19 lakh devotees visited Kedardham,” he informed. PM Modi also mentioned that Ayodhya has witnessed visits of more than 24 lakh people in the past 12 days after the opening of the Ram temple. He said that a similar sight will unfold here after the completion of Maa Kamkhya Divya Lok Pariyojana.
"From the rickshaw pullers to taxi drivers, hotel owners or street vendors, many people earn money because of the pilgrims visiting such sites. This increases the income of the people and our efforts of developing lives," Modi said adding that the government was giving special emphasis on development of tourism in the Northeast having a lot of possibilities in the tourism sector.
Development in Northeast:
Modi said the "double engine" government of BJP put emphasis on upgradation of infrastructure in Assam and rest of the Northeast in the past 10 years. "As a worker of the party, I saw how blockades and bomb blasts affected development and stopped people from visiting the Northeast. But the Northeast has seen a record number of inflow of tourists in the past 10 years."
PM Modi said that the government has increased the region's development expenditure by four times. Drawing comparisons to before and after 2014, the Prime Minister stated that the length of railway tracks laid was increased by more than 1,900 km, the railway budget was boosted by almost 400 per cent and 6,000 km of new national highways were constructed in the past 10 years compared to 10,000kms till 2014. Peace was established by signing 10 peace accords and over 7,000 youths have come back to the past of development, he said.
The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of setting big targets and asserted that previous governments lacked objectives and failed to work hard to achieve targets. "We envision the North East developing similarly to East Asia, facilitating expanded connectivity in North and East Asia. Numerous roads in the state are set to be upgraded under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation, transforming the North East into a trade hub."
Zero electricity bill:
The Prime Minister said the new budget presented on Thursday set a target to assist one crore households to set up rooftop solar power panels in order to make their electricity bill zero. "Apart from zero electricity bills, such solar power projects will help them earn by selling the additional electricity," he said.