Delhi/Guwahati, 13 March (H.S.): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to strengthening the agriculture sector and increasing farmers’ income, while releasing the 22nd instalment of the PM-KISAN financial assistance scheme benefiting over 9.32 crore farmers across the country.

Addressing a public gathering in Guwahati during his two-day visit to Assam, the Prime Minister said the government has taken multiple initiatives over the past decade aimed at improving farm productivity, promoting modern agriculture and ensuring financial support to farmers.

He also criticised previous governments, alleging that the agriculture sector did not receive adequate attention earlier.

Focus on Northeast development

Highlighting the importance of the Northeast in India’s growth strategy, Modi described the region as central to the country’s development vision and said Assam is emerging as a growth engine for the region.

During the visit, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth around ₹19,680 crore covering energy, railways, infrastructure and waterways sectors.

Key infrastructure projects launched

Among the major projects inaugurated was the 150 MW Kopili Hydropower Project and the expansion-related infrastructure of the Numaligarh Refinery, including the capacity enhancement of the Numaligarh-Siliguri product pipeline.

He also inaugurated Phase-1 of the North East Gas Grid, which will connect major locations including Guwahati, Numaligarh and parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, aimed at strengthening regional energy connectivity.

Railway infrastructure projects including electrification of key routes such as Rangiya–Murkongselek, Chaparmukh–Dibrugarh and Badarpur–Silchar lines were also dedicated to the nation. The foundation stone was laid for the doubling of the Furkating–Tinsukia railway line.

Push for logistics and waterways

In the waterways sector, the Prime Minister laid the foundation for cruise terminals at Bishwanath Ghat and Neamati, along with a maritime training and research centre at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh.

Other projects included the inauguration of a road connecting Pandu Jetty to National Highway-27 and the opening of the PM Ekta Mall in Guwahati aimed at promoting regional products.

Kokrajhar projects launched virtually

Due to weather conditions, the Prime Minister addressed a scheduled programme in Kokrajhar virtually. During the virtual event, he laid the foundation stone for the Assam Mala 3.0 road project, railway infrastructure projects and several bridges across the Bodoland Territorial Region.

He also flagged off three trains including the Kamakhya–Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express, Guwahati–New Jalpaiguri Express and Narangi–Agartala Express.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to travel to Silchar where he will launch additional development projects worth around ₹23,550 crore as part of his ongoing Northeast visit.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar