7,000 Youths Of Assam Have Put Down Arms, Says PM Modi After Unveiling Projects Worth Rs 11,000 Cr

Guwahati: Peace has returned to Assam and more than 7,000 youth have put down their arms, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. The Prime Minister was addressing the public after inaugurating several development projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore at the Veterinary College Playground in Khanapara during his visit to Assam.

“Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) has been removed from many districts and people have vowed to walk shoulder to shoulder for the development of the country,” he said.

The PM ay laid the foundation stones for several major projects, including the Kamakhya Temple corridor to be built at Rs 498 crore, the six-lane road from the new airport terminal to be constructed in Guwahati at a cost of Rs 358 crore, upgradation of Nehru Stadium as per FIFA standards that would cost Rs 831 crore, and a new sports complex that would come up in Chandrapur at a cost of Rs 300 crore.

He said the projects will strengthen the connectivity of Assam and northeast with other South Asian countries and will create employment opportunities in tourism industry.

Taking a dig at the previous governments for failing to ensure development while reviving India’s glorious past at the same time, the PM said, “No country can become developed by erasing, forgetting its past, and by cutting its roots. I am satisfied that in the past 10 years, the situation has changed in India.”

The PM announced a new medical college in the Barak Valley region and laid the foundation stone of Rs 3,250 crore project to improve amenities and infrastructure in the existing Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

Criticising the previous Congress government, he said before the BJP government in Assam, there were only six medical colleges and today there are 12. “Assam is today becoming a major centre for cancer treatment in the Northeast,” he added.

The Prime Minister also kick-started the second phase of Asom Mala roads project which will have 43 new roads and 38 bridges and will be constructed at Rs 3,444 crore.

The Prime Minister was on a two-day visit to the state. He was welcomed with one lakh diyas lit by thousands of people at Khanpara on Friday evening.