Gadkari, Sonowal unveil bronze statue of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Silchar

Bhumipujan for bridge linking Jorhat with Majuli in January

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: It was a memorable day for Northeast as Union Minister of Highways & Transport and Nitin Gadkari along with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal unveiled the 13-feet bronze statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Mahasadak Zero Point, Rongpur in Cachar — five km from here on Friday. The sprawling makeshift packed auditorium with BJP leaders and party members rose in unison to pay standing ovation to the most admirable Prime Minister whom Gadkari described as a "person with mission and vision".

The event synchronized with the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Vajpayee which is also observed as 'Good Governance Day'. While attending a public meeting at the playground of Rangpur High School here, Chief Minister Sonowal and Union Minister Gadkari also attended Prime Minister's Narendra Modi's address to the farmers of the nation. On the occasion, Prime Minister Modi under the 'PM Kisan Samman Nidhi' disbursed Rs 18,000 crore to the bank accounts of the nine crore farmers of the country through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.

In the same programme, the Union Minister along with the Chief Minister laid the foundation stones of 27 projects including 439-km road involving financial outlay of Rs 2,366 crore. Foundation stones were laid for 20 projects and the Ministers dedicated the remaining seven projects to the nation.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Gadkari said that Vajpayee was a beloved leader who strengthened the democratic edifice of the country. He was a radiant personality who devoted his entire life for the farmers and poor people. His oratory skill kept everyone enthralled in Parliament and his amiable disposition endeared one and all. "We cannot forget Atalji and we owe him a lot," he added.

Gadkari also said that Vajpayee bestowed upon him the task of building the great 'Mahasadak' vis-a-vis the over-3,000 km long 'East-West Corridor' connecting Saurashtra in Maharashtra and Silchar in Assam. In this context, Gadkari said unveiling the statue of a multifaceted personality like Vajpayeeji was the greatest honour; and that it would inspire him to work with zeal and vigour for development of the country.

He also said that Vajpayee used politics as a tool for social reformation as he attributed the present Central government's all-round efforts for bringing about the paradigm shift in rural communication to Vajpayee's vision.

In reply to Chief Minister Sonowal's request for constructing two more bridges on the river Barak, Gadkari announced that his Ministry would build two more bridges on the Barak River for facilitation of seamless communion across the river.

Conceding to Sonowal's request, the Union Minister announced that in line with the 'Multimodal Logistic Park' of Jogighopa, one more 'Multimodal Logistic Park' would be set up in Barak Valley. He also said that the construction of national highway at Balicherra-Harangajao would be completed by March 2022. He added that the works for NH between Jatinga-Harangajao and Harangajao-Mahur would begin from March 2021. Gadkari also said that the work for the proposed bridge over the Brahmaputra connecting Phulbari and Dhubri would start very soon. He also informed that the bhumipujan for another bridge over the Brahmaputra connecting Jorhat with Majuli would be done in January in 2021.

Paying rich tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Chief Minister Sonowal said that the statue of the former Prime Minister would enlighten the coming generation about the good governance enunciated by the patriarch, the former Prime Minister. Inspired by the good governance of the former Prime Minister, Sonowal appealed to the people of Barak-Brahmaputra, hills and plains to work dedicatedly for the development of the State.

Chief Minister Sonowal also said that the unveiling of statue of the great leader would inspire and motivate the young generation to work towards nation building. The Chief Minister said during the tenure of Vajpayee, the 'East-West Corridor' connecting Saurastra with Silchar was envisioned and given a concrete shape. Thanking Gadkari, Sonowal said that the Union Minister took a powerful step in materializing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Transformation through Transportation'. Sonowal also said that the work for 'Mini Secretariat' in Silchar would start very soon.

Silchar MP, Dr. Rajdeep Roy gave the welcome address in the programme which was also addressed by the Chairman of HouseFed Ranjeet Kumar Dass. Union Minister of State for Food Processing Rameswar Teli, Minister for Environment and Forest Parimal Suklabaidya, Deputy Speaker Assam Legislative Assembly Aminul Haque Laskar, MP Kripanath Malla, former Union Minister Kabindra Purkayastha and a host of other dignitaries were present on the occasion.