New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday flagged off Assam’s first Vande Bharat Express train via video conferencing. It will connect Guwahati with New Jalpaiguri Guwahati and the journey will take 5 hours and 30 minutes.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi said that today is a huge day for the connectivity of the Northeast as three development works are being accomplished together. Firstly, he elaborated, Northeast is getting its first Vande Bharat Express today where this is the third Vande Bharat Express which connects West Bengal.

Secondly, approximately 425 kilometers of railway tracks in Assam and Meghalaya have been electrified. And, thirdly, a new DEMU-MEMU shed has been inaugurated in Lumding in Assam. The Prime Minister congratulated the citizens of the entire Northeast along with Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal on this momentous occasion, he added.

He said that the Guwahati -New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat train will strengthen the centuries-old ties between Assam and West Bengal. This will increase ease of travel and provide huge benefits to students and will increase job opportunities arising out of tourism and business.

He said that this Vande Bharat will provide connectivity to Maa Kamakhya Temple, Kaziranga, Manas National Park, and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. Furthermore, the Prime Minister pointed out that it will enhance travel and tourism in Shillong, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya and Tawang and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.

Throwing light on the nine years of the NDA government in power, the Prime Minister remarked that the nation has witnessed numerous accomplishments and unprecedented development towards a new India in these years.

He highlighted the newly inaugurated magnificent Parliament House of independent India and said that it will connect the thousand-year-old democratic history of India with its prosperous democracy of the future. Referring to past governments, the Prime Minister pointed out that the scams of before 2014 had broken all records where the maximum impact was felt by the poor and the states which lagged behind in development.

The Prime Minister said that the biggest beneficiaries of the infrastructure push have been the states of Eastern and north-eastern India. He said that earlier, the people of the Northeast remained deprived of even the basic facilities for decades. He said that a large number of villages and families which did not have electricity, telephone or good rail road air connectivity until 9 years ago were from the Northeast.

The Prime Minister presented rail connectivity in the region as an example of work with a service spirit. The rail connectivity in the northeast is proof of the government’s speed, scale and intention, the Prime Minister said. He said that even in colonial times Assam, Tripura and Bengal were connected with railways, even though, with an intention to loot the natural resources of the region.

Modi said that he has given the highest priority to Northeast people's sensitivities and facilities. This change has been widely felt, he added. He informed that before 2014, the average railways budget for the Northeast was about 2500 crore rupees which have grown to more than 10 thousand crores this year, a four-fold increase.

 “The scale and speed of the development works of the government has been unprecedented,” he said as he noted that new rail lines are being laid in the Northeast at three times the pace than before and the doubling of rail lines is taking place nine times faster than before. The Prime Minister mentioned that the work for doubling of rail lines began in the last 9 years and the government is working towards saturation at a very fast pace.

“Indian Railway has become a medium of connecting hearts, societies and opportunities to the people along with speed,” he remarked as he highlighted the first transgender tea stall at Guwahati Railway Station. He stated that it is an attempt to give a life of respect to those who expect better behaviour from society. /BI/