IMPHAL, February 19: National projects implemented in the State are reputed to be put into effect most swiftly in the entire country, stated Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in his speech as a chief guest today at the IBSD Campus in Takyelpat.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the inaugural function of the first National Bio-resources and Sustainable Development Summit held at the Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD.
Talking about the State government`™s support to the national projects, he said that the expansion of airports and the new railway links require large tracts of land. He said the State government is carrying out land acquisitions so as not to delay the projects. He said the State will receive 90 percent of the benefits from the ongoing national projects in Manipur.
He has been the Vice-president of the IBDS from the last 13 years and will not deviate from any developmental issue of the institute, he said, adding the area of land of the institute is still not sufficient for effective functioning of the institute.
He further called for co-operation from the people living around the institute and asked the encroachers to evacuate at the earliest from the land allotted to the Manipur Renewable Energy Development Agency (MANIREDA), and the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) located adjacently to the IBDS institute. He said that if the encroachers fail to evacuate from the said land then the Government would have no other option than to use force.
Coffee cups and bamboo souvenirs with messages of saving the Sangai and Siroi Lily were also released by the dignitaries at the inaugural function.
IBSD Imphal director Professor Dinabandhu Sahoo in his keynote speech said that the institute`™s staff and its students have extended their help in making the institute complex clean. He said the institute is still in need of expanding its premises and some of the area is being borrowed for that purpose.
He said he has a dream of promoting brand Manipur and added that the State of Manipur has unique gifts like the Ema Market which is a one-of-its-kind in the world, Siroi Lily, Sangai and Loktak Lake which are real wonders in their own rights but they need to be made widely known. The State is lacking in promoting these unique gifts, he stressed.
He said that the people of the State need to project the unique assets of the land to the rest of the world and they could help in improving the State`™s economy through tourism. He said the State has a lot of potential to be a tourist destination.
Sahoo said there are a few Bio-resources and Sustainable Development Institute in the country. He lauded the support of the State government in making the IBSD come to this level and also added that the State`™s CM has assured him to lift the institution to the upmost level.
He also announced that during his tenure as the director of IBSD, Imphal, he will put Manipur on the global map.
The chief guest of the inaugural function, O Ibobi also inaugurated a theme park at the IBSD complex. The inaugural function was also attended by Works & Transport minister Dr Kh Ratankumar Singh as the guest of honour.