NORTH-EASTERN STATES

A month after setting sail on the Ganga from Patna, the MV Lal Bahadur Shastri carrying 200 metric tonnes of food grains for the (Fci), docked at Guwahatis Pandu port on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra on March 6. The occasion is believed to have taken inland water transport, on two of Indias largest river systems, to the future.

Around Independence, Assams per capita income was the highest in the country primarily because of access for its tea, timber, coal and oil industries to seaports on the Bay of Bengal via the Brahmaputra and the Barak River (southern Assam) systems. Ferry Services continued sporadically after 1947 but stopped after the 1965 war with Pakistan, as Bangladesh used to be East Pakistan then.

India has invested 80% of 305.84 crore to improve the navigability of the two stretches of the IBP (Indo-Bangladesh Protocol) routes Sirajganj-Daikhowa and Ashuganj-Zakiganj in Bangladesh.

The seven-year dredging project on these two stretches till 2026 is expected to yield seamless Navigation to the north-eastern region.

The Government has also undertaken the Jal Marg Vikas project with an Investment of 4,600-crore to augment the capacity of NW1 for sustainable movement of vessels weighing up to 2,000 tonnes.

Highlighting the success of the government inTripura, Assam CM Himanta BiswaSarma sought votes for the saffron brigade in the upcoming assembly while addressing Jana Viswas Yatra on a chariot at Killa in Gomati district.

Sarma claimed that Tripuras progress is much ahead of other northeastern states, including Assam and there is no chance of the return of CPM. He said, In five years, the scale of development in Tripura is incomparable with other states despite two-year-long hindrance created by Covid-19.
Manik Saha da has become a reference point for us I have given only 4% DA to Assam employees but he has given 12% at a time and 20% in five years. Agartala airport has become bigger than Guwahati airport with all modern facilities. The monthly social pensionsroseto Rs 2,000 to a large number of beneficiaries and the list of development in Tripura is too long, Sarma claimed.

Chief minister Conrad K Sangma was the first executive head ofMeghalayaon its 50th year of statehood to have visited a remote village,Rengsinparain theWest Garo Hillsdistrict, where he inaugurated a cold storage unit of the Integrated Village Cooperative Society under Tikrikilla block.

The cold storage constructed at a cost of Rs 5 lakh under funding from MEGH-LAMP and SELCO foundation runs completely on solar power and has a capacity of 5 MT.
The Collective Marketing Centre (CMC) is another initiative taken by the Rengsingpara IVCS Ltd., which is being installed at a cost of around Rs 8 lakh and both the cold storage and collective marketing centre is facilitated by MBMA (MeghaLAMP), West Garo Hills.

The government has rolled out the FOCUS programme in the state and by March this year, Rs 17.28 crore will be disbursed to about 1,650 producers groups and by the end of financial year 2022-23, another Rs 130 crore will be disbursed to about 16,800 producers groups.

Mizoram Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Minister Dr K Beichhua said 29,803 pigs have died in the state due to the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) since March this year. Addressing a meeting of the Mizo National Front here on Friday, the minister said that at least 10,380 pigs suspected to be infected with ASF have been culled so far. “As many as 29,803 pigs have been confirmed dead due to ASF in 8 months since March 21 and 533 others died due to suspected ASF,” he said.

At least 272 villages across all 11 districts of the state are currently affected by the ASF outbreak, he said. The minister said the government is making massive efforts to contain the outbreak.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar and dedicated 600 MW Kameng Station to the nation today. The foundation stone for this airport was laid by the Prime Minister himself in February 2019. Work on the airport has been completed within a short span of time, despite the challenges due to the pandemic in between.

The Prime Minister said that Donyi Polo Airport will be the fourth operational airport for Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total airport count in the North-East region to 16. From 1947 to 2014, only 9 Airports were built in the North-East. In a short span of the last eight years, 7 airports have been built in the North-East. This rapid development of airports in the region reflects the special emphasis of the Prime Minister on enhancing connectivity in the Northeast. He informed that the number of flights connecting Northeast India has doubled. The Donyi Polo Airport is becoming a witness to the HISTORY and culture of Arunachal Pradesh, Shri Modi remarked. Throwing Light on the naming of the airport, the Prime Minister explained that Donyi means the Sun while Polo means the moon. Drawing an analogy to the light of the sun and the moon with the development of the state, the Prime Minister said that the development of the airport is as important as the development of the poor.

In a key step to boost connectivity in the Northeast, the Prime Minister inaugurated the first greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh – Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar. The name of the airport reflects the traditions and rich cultural heritage of Arunachal Pradesh and its age-old indigenous reverence for the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo).

The airport, which is the first greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh, has been developed in an area of over 690 acres, at a cost of more than Rs. 640 crores. With a 2300 m runway, the airport is suitable for all weather day operations. The airport terminal is a modern building, which promotes Energy Efficiency, RENEWABLE ENERGY and the recycling of Resources.

The development of a new Airport in Itanagar will not only improve connectivity in the region but will also act as a Catalyst for the Growth of trade and tourism, thus providing a boost to the Economic Development of the region.

Airports in five northeastern states, namely, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have seen flights take off for the first time in 75 years.

Aircraft movement in the North-East has also witnessed an increase of 113% since 2014, from 852 per week in 2014 to 1817 per week in 2022.

The Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh established an electronic Inner Line Permit (ILP) counters

Highlights:

Under this portal, an individual from outside the state can apply online for Inner Line Permit and get the permit from centres after onsite verification.

The e-ILP tracking system was developed to compensate for the loopholes in the licensing process and its tracking system.

It has a comprehensive dashboard device that would actively exhibit facts such as number of people coming into the state on a precise date and time and graphical break-up based presentation of people visiting via different entry gates.

The device is additionally enabled with automatic generation of a defaulted listing of people who have overstayed past the permitted number of days as per the permit.

On 1st January 2020, the ILP system came into effect in Manipur

As a token of respect and courtesy, Tripura chief ministerBiplab Kumar Debhas sent 400pineapplestoBangladeshPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Meanwhile, T K Chakma, director of industries and tourism department of Tripura government expressed that Tripura and Bangladesh have a strong relationship and there is huge scope for further enhancement of import-export trade and medical tourism sector.

Recently, theBangladesh PMhad sent Haribhanga mangoes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers of its neighbouring Indian states including Tripura. The Kew variety of pineapples was arranged by the Director of and Soil Conservation Department of the Tripura government from two spots – Kumarghat and Ompi.

The Ujjayanta Palace which was built at the heart of the city in 1862 by the erstwhile prince Chandra Manikya houses the state museum since 2013 and is the main attraction of tourists visiting the state.

A beautification drive has already been initiated for the front side of the palace and there will be food stalls along the roads leading to the Ujjayanta palace, he said, adding separate stalls will also be available for traditional items and flowers. Besides, there will be a boating facility on the lake of the palace.

The official said the government has taken measures to promote tourism highlighting the state’s important tourism destinations including Unakoti in North district, Tripureswari temple in Gomati district, Neermahal in Sepahijala district and Dumbur in Dhalai district.

Indias third most backward district, Kiphire inNagaland, has launched free mobile tablets to all students in government schools between Classes 8 and 12 when students in several other districts in thenortheastare being forced to climb hills to reach a convenient location for online Education.

The effort from the Nagaland government is to give a push to digital education even without the Internet. As offline classes have remained suspended for the pandemic, the digital contents prepared with the latest audio-visual pedagogy can be accessed at Home. Government officials said remote districts of the state like Noklak will also be covered soon under the policy.

Educators and students living in remote locations ringed by hills, have been struggling to get internet access. The Saramati range of Mountains, lying along the India-Myanmar border, under Pungro subdivision, is a feast for the eyes of tourists. But this scenic beauty has become a barrier in the age of the internet, especially during the lockdown.

The Nagaland Education Mission Society (NEMS), under the Samagra Shiksha Nagaland, this week launched the scheme virtually to provide tablets for Class 8-12 students in the aspirational district of Kiphire. In the first phase tablets for 1,097 students will be distributed in Classes 8-10.