In Shillong, Modi pledges to tap NE’s ‘huge’ potential

Bijay Sankar Bora

Tribune News Service

Guwahati, May 27

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today pledged to expedite efforts to make the resourceful and scenic ethnic mosaic of the Northeast a most sought-after tourist destination, country’s organic food basket and hub of resplendent ethnic apparels manufactured by the weavers of the NE states.

Addressing a public rally at Polo Ground in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong, Modi said the entire Northeast could well become the organic food basket of the country and called upon entrepreneurs of the Northeast to tap Start-Up India, Stand-Up India and PM’s Mudra Yojana schemes to take to organic farming.

He said better connectivity and universal cleanliness would contribute towards tapping the immense tourism potential of the beautiful region and pointed out that his government’s ‘Swadesh Darshan’ programme to promote tourism would immensely benefit Northeast. “A day will come when the entire country will flock to the Northeast to enjoy its natural beauty. When the rest of the country will come, it will popularise the region outside the country also,” he said.

Modi congratulated people of Sikkim in the wake of Gangtok city becoming the cleanest city in the region. He also hailed people of Meghalaya for being able to have Mawlyngnong as the cleanest village in the country. “Tourism is a sector where one can earn maximum profit through minimum investment,” Modi said.

He highlighted the region’s tremendous potential in textile sector, which is termed the largest employment generator after agriculture. He announced that Rs 145 crore was being spent to set up eight apparel hubs, one in each of the eight NE states, to promote region’s rich handloom and textile. He said the 10 GB seamless alternate internet bandwidth for the region would be a boon for economic development of the region.