Union Minister of State for Railway Raosaheb Patil Danve on Wednesday lauded the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for improving the connectivity of the North-eastern states through railways with the rest of India and said that rail connectivity is essential for the overall development of a state.
The central government is giving special impetus to improve the connectivity in the Northeast and is trying to link all the state capitals by rail.
Speaking to ANI, Danve said, "The work of improving the connectivity through railways between the capitals of the north-eastern states is underway. The passenger train has been re-introduced between Jiribam of Manipur and Silchar of Assam."
"Earlier, there was no rail traffic in the north-eastern states be it Tripura or Nagaland or Manipur. The rail connectivity is imperative for the development of a state," he said.
He recalled that the people had to face challenges while transporting food grains to the seven sister states.
The northeast consists of seven sister states, Tripura, Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland, and Mizoram.
Recalling that it was the aspiration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to connect all the state capitals of Northeast India by rail, Raosaheb Patil said, "PM Narendra Modi Ji noticed that the previous government had not made efforts to improve the connectivity between the states. Efforts are being made continuously to start rail service in the seven sister states by the Modi-led government in the Centre to resolve the issue."
He also mentioned that during his visit to Imphal, the construction of a 10 km long tunnel is underway and it will be completed by 2023.
" The tunnel is an important part for connectivity with Imphal. This is the dream of Modi ji. There are issues with land acquisition in the project which will be resolved as soon as possible," he said.
He also assured that all the disputes related to land compensation, etc., would be resolved soon as he has convened a review meeting with administrative secretaries, DCs concerned and officials.
"More industries can be established in the states if its connectivity with other states improves. The cost of transportation will be reduced. Modi ji is doing the work which should have been done way earlier," he added while criticising the previous governments at the Centre for not focussing on the development of the North Eastern region.
( With inputs from ANI )
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