GUWAHATI, 14 Feb: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated several projects in Assam, including a bridge on the Brahmaputra river, an IIM and a data centre for the Northeastern region.
The projects, which were rolled out months ahead of the Assam assembly elections, aim to boost connectivity, strengthen digital infrastructure, promote higher education, and enhance public transport.
Modi reached the state on a visit to inaugurate an emergency landing facility (ELF) at Moran in Dibrugarh district and launch projects worth over Rs 5,500 crore.
The first project the prime minister inaugurated in the state capital was a six-lane bridge over the Brahmaputra river. He launched the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu, built at a cost of around Rs 3,030 crore.
The six-lane extradosed prestressed concrete (PSC) bridge will connect Guwahati with north Guwahati and is the first extradosed bridge in the Northeast.
Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa were present on the occasion.
Modi had laid the foundation stone for the bridge on 9 February, 2019 and construction started on 1 March, 2020 by the then Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
A senior official of the Assam government told PTI that after its formal opening to the public that the bridge will remain open exclusively for pedestrians till 28 February.
Later, in nearby Lachit ghat, Modi unveiled the Indian Institute of Management Guwahati, inaugurated a high-tech data centre that would cater to the entire Northeast, and flagged off 225 electric buses for four cities, including the Assam capital.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, several state ministers, MPs, MLAs and senior government officials were also present along with the CM and governor during inauguration of these projects.
The PM virtually inaugurated the temporary campus of the IIM Guwahati, which is expected to give a major fillip to higher education and management education in the Northeastern region.
The main IIM Guwahati project will entail an expenditure of Rs 555 crore.
The PM also virtually inaugurated the National Data Centre (NDC) for the Northeastern region, set up at an investment of Rs 348 crore at Amingaon in Kamrup district of Assam.
The state-of-the-art data centre, with a total sanctioned load of 8.5 mw and an average rack capacity of 10 kw per rack will host mission-critical applications of various government departments and also function as a disaster recovery centre for other NDCs.
Aligned with the vision of Digital India, the NDC for the Northeast has been envisaged as a strategic intervention to strengthen the region’s ICT backbone and ensure robust, secure and always-available digital infrastructure.
Modi also flagged off 225 electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme.
Of these, 100 buses are for Guwahati, 50 each for Nagpur and Bhavnagar, and 25 for Chandigarh.
“With the launch of e-bus operations under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme in these four cities, more than 50 lakh citizens are expected to benefit through access to clean, affordable and reliable public transport services, contributing to improved urban mobility and enhanced quality of life,” the PMO statement added. (PTI)
