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New Delhi: Ahead of the upcoming Manipur Assembly Elections 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the north-eastern state on Tuesday to inaugurate 13 projects and lay foundation stones of as many as 22 development projects worth Rs 4,800 crore in Imphal. Of these, a total of 13 projects worth nearly Rs 1,850 crore will be inaugurated while a foundation stone of nine more key development projects worth around Rs 2,950 crore will also be laid. These projects relate to diverse sectors including road infrastructure, drinking water supply, health, urban development, housing, information technology, skill development, and art and culture.
The Prime Minister will also virtually kick-start the campaign for the Assembly elections in Manipur. During his visit to Imphal, PM Modi will first address a public gathering at the palace compound in Imphal East district and then inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for 22 projects worth over Rs 4,800 crore.
In line with the countrywide projects to improve connectivity, PM Modi will lay the foundation stones for the construction of five national highway projects to be built at a cost of over Rs 1,700 crore. The construction of these highways with a cumulative length of over 110 km will be a major step to improve road connectivity in the region, and another key project that will enhance seamless year-round connectivity to Silchar from Imphal and reduce traffic congestion is the construction of a steel bridge built over Barak river on NH-37 built at a cost of over Rs 75 crore. This bridge will be inaugurated by Modi, said an official PMO statement.
More than 2,350 mobile towers built at a cost of around Rs 1,100 crore will be dedicated to the public by the Prime Minister to further improve mobile connectivity in the region. The PMO further said that Modi’s endeavour to provide clean drinking water to every household will get a boost with the inauguration of drinking water supply projects in the state. These include the Rs 280 crore worth water transmission system of Thoubal multipurpose project. Another project built at the cost of Rs 65 crore will provide safe drinking water to residents of 10 habitations of Tamenglong district. Modi will also inaugurate the “augmentation of Senapati district headquarter water supply scheme” built at a cost of Rs 51 crore.
In Manipur, Modi will also lay the foundation stone for a state-of-the-art cancer hospital and inaugurate a newly-built 200-bed Covid hospital at Kiyamgei which has been built for about Rs 37 crore in collaboration with the DRDO. The PM will also lay the foundation for the Centre for Invention, Innovation, Incubation and Training to boost employment opportunities. He will also lay the foundation for the Manipur Institute of Performing Arts at Gurgaon, Haryana. The idea of such a cultural institute of Manipur in Haryana was first mooted in 1990 but it could not materialize for the last many years. The institute will be built at a cost of more than Rs 240 crore and will promote the rich art and culture of the state, the PMO said. To strengthen the handloom industry in the state, Modi will lay the foundation stone of two projects.
For the smooth passage of the Prime Minister’s convoy, heavy security arrangements have been put in place and general traffic restrictions have been imposed on several important highways. BJP leaders and other functionaries, including Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh are personally supervising all the arrangements for the Prime Minister’s day-long tour.
Meanwhile, insurgent outfits have registered their protest against Modi’s visit to the state. CorCom, an umbrella body of several militant organisations, said in a release that a state-wide shut down will come into effect from 1 am of Tuesday and continue till PM’s departure. The group claimed that attempts were being made to “expand colonial administration” in Manipur. Another outfit, National Revolutionary Front, Manipur (NRFM), said that there was no reason to celebrate the visit of the prime minister to Manipur.
The visit of the Prime Minister to poll-bound Manipur will further step up the political activities before the elections. Elections to the 60-seat Manipur Assembly are likely to be held in February-March along with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa. From Imphal, the Prime Minister will go to Agartala where he will inaugurate the new integrated terminal building of Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, built at a cost of about Rs 450 crore. He will also launch two important schemes in Tripura — Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samriddhi Yojana and Project Mission 100 of Vidyajyoti Schools.
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