Connectivity Projects in Assam

In News- Prime Minister launched multiple infrastructure projects in Assam.

• Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister also wished the Mising community for the Ali-Aye-Ligang festival associated with agriculture.
  • Mising community is an indigenous community inhabiting parts of the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Ali-Ayé means seeds in a row, and Lígang means sowing of seeds.
  • It is a festival marking the beginning of the sowing season, and marks the start of a new agricultural calendar.

About Projects

• Mahabahu-Brahmaputra inland waterway project-
  • The launch of Mahabahu-Brahmaputra will be marked by the inauguration of the three Ro-pax vessel operations between Neamati-Majuli Island, North Guwahati-South Guwahati and Dhubri-Hatsingimari.
  • The Ro-Pax ferry services cut travel time by providing connectivity between banks.
  • Cost -3200 crore
  • It is aimed at improving water transport connectivity.
•  Inland Water Transport (IWT) Terminal –
  • The foundation stone of Inland Water Transport (IWT) Terminal at Jogighopa and various tourist jetties on the Brahmaputra will be laid down.
    • These jetties will promote river cruise tourism, create employment opportunities and generate growth for local business.
•  E-portals-
  • Two e-portals will be launched to further ease of doing business.
    • The Car-D portal will help in collating real-time information on all the cargo and cruise traffic data of the National Waterway.
      •  It will also provide information related to the infrastructure of Waterway.
    • PANI (Portal for Asset and Navigation Information) will act as a one-stop solution for providing information about river navigation and infrastructure.
•  Dhubri Phulbari bridge –
  • Foundation stone for a 19-km-long four-lane  Dhubri Phulbari bridge over the Brahmaputra
  • It will be India’s longest bridge over a river that connects Dhubri in Assam and Phulbari in Meghalaya, to be constructed at the cost of Rs 5,000 crore.
  • Assam and Meghalaya will have a direct connection with West Bengal through this bridge.
•  Majuli bridge-
  • 6.8-km-long two-lane bridge Majuli bridge that would connect Kamalabari in Majuli, the world’s largest river island to Neematighat in Jorhat was inaugurated.

Significance

• These steps would improve connectivity and promote water transportation in Assam.

• It will provide connectivity to the eastern parts of the country as a whole.

Other initiatives for development of the Northeast

• National Bamboo Mission- The Mission envisages promoting holistic growth of the bamboo sector by adopting area-based,regionally differentiated strategy.
  • The aim is to increase the area under bamboo cultivation and marketing.
• Bru or Reang resettlement- The agreement has been signed between the Government of India, Government of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru community representatives in New Delhi on 16th January 2020 to put an end to the 23 years old Bru refugee crisis.
• Digital North East Vision 2022- It was launched by the Union Minister for Electronics & IT in Guwahati.
  • The Vision Document emphasizes leveraging digital technologies to transform lives of people of the north east and enhance the ease of living.
• NITI Forum for North East: Focussed attention for development of NER:
  • The forum examines various proposals both at the Central and the State levels and prepares plans for the speedy development of the North Eastern Region.
  • The Forum proposed that the development projects in the NER would be based on the concept of “HIRA” (Highways, Inland Waterways, Railways and Airways)

Significance of North East Region

• The North Eastern Region is ideal for both passive and adventure forms of Ecotourism with wildlife sanctuary/parks, good scenic beauty, waterfalls, forests etc.
• The region has many famous and old religious spots, which have been integrated with national tourism circuits.
• In view of the attractive natural environment and growing trends of outbound business meets, the NER also offers ample opportunities for the business tourism segment.
• Heritage tourism has picked up considerably in the Region with a participatory approach.
• The North East will play an important role in India’s Act East Policy.
• The region is home to a large number of ethnic communities and diverse tribal groups having unique dialects and traditions.
• Northeast states are increasingly gaining a significant strategic value.
  • With ASEAN engagement becoming a central pillar of India’s foreign policy direction, these states play an important role as the physical bridge between India and Southeast Asia.

Seven Sisters of Northeast India

• The ‘seven sisters’ of Northeast India comprise Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
• Sikkim is also a part of the Northeast but is not included in the Seven Sisters because while the other seven states are contiguous, Sikkim is sort of a neighbour, divided by the Siliguri Corridor.
• Sikkim is also referred to as the ‘Brother’ of the Seven Sisters.

Source: IE