SHILLONG, May 27 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said adventure tourism can emerge as the biggest employer in the North East region and urged the States concerned for its development and promotion.
“If developed and promoted well, this can emerge as the biggest employer in the region. It can also add to the growth and income of the region,” Modi said while addressing the 65th plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC). He said all States in the North East region were blessed with natural scenic beauty, distinct historical cultural and ethnic heritage.
“All this offers tremendous scope for tourism in the region. There is also a great scope for mountaineering, trekking and adventure tourism in the region,” he said.Underlining the need to make the best use of the Ministry of Tourism’s ‘thematic circuit’, Modi said the region can also look for combining a few popular destinations of the neighbouring countries for added attraction for tourists. Terming the North East as the gateway to South East Asia, the Prime Minister said there was a need to take advantage of this. “We are opening up both road and rail routes to our neighbouring countries. This should give a boost to the economic development of the region,” Modi said highlighting the achievements of his Government in this regard.
According to the Prime Minister, as of today, 34 road projects in the North Eastern States covering 1,001 km at a total cost of over Rs 10,000 crore have been implemented by the specialised highways construction agency for the North East — the ‘National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation’.Highlighting the Internet connectivity project for the North East region in collaboration with Bangladesh, Modi said this would make available 10 GB of seamless alternate bandwidth for the region.
On power, the Prime Minister said the Centre has invested in power transmission projects covering all the eight North Eastern States at a cost of around Rs 10,000 crore to ensure electricity to more areas. On railways, he said major railway expansion projects have been undertaken in the region at a cost of around Rs 10,000 crore following the connectivity provided to Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in November 2014.