Modi launches ₹23,550cr projects in Silchar, pitches Barak Valley as trade gateway

Silchar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday performed the “bhoomi poojan” for projects worth ₹23,550 crore in Assam’s Silchar, asserting that improved connectivity will transform the Barak Valley and the northeast into a major gateway linking India with markets in Bangladesh, Myanmar and other South Asian countries.At a public meeting in Ramnagar on the outskirts of Silchar, Modi said the infrastructure push would link the Barak Valley more closely to the national highway network and widen trade and economic opportunities in the region.The biggest project announced was the ₹22,864-crore Shillong-Silchar High Speed Corridor, a 166.8-km greenfield four-lane access-controlled expressway to be built as part of NH-06 by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

Officials said tenders have been floated, wildlife board clearance has been obtained and land acquisition is in progress. The corridor will run through Ri-Bhoi, East Khasi Hills and West Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya before entering Assam’s Cachar district. The project, which includes major tunnelling through hilly terrain, is scheduled for completion by 2030.Once completed, the expressway is expected to cut travel time between Guwahati and Silchar from about nine hours to around five hours.

“With improved connectivity, the Barak Valley will emerge as one of the largest logistics and trade hubs in the northeast. Under the Act East Policy, the northeast will become India’s bridge to South Asia,” the Prime Minister said.Modi said the corridor would connect the Barak Valley with West Bengal while opening access to the large markets of Bangladesh, Myanmar and other South Asian countries. He said better connectivity would also support agriculture, tourism and trade and generate jobs and self-employment for Assam’s youth.The Prime Minister also performed the "bhoomi poojan" for the ₹565-crore Silchar Town Flyover project, planned from Trunk Road near Capital Point to Rangirkhari Point in Phase I. The elevated corridor is intended to ease congestion on one of Silchar’s busiest stretches and improve urban mobility.He also laid the foundation stone for a College of Agriculture at Patharkandi in Sribhumi district. The ₹122-crore institution will be built over 88 hectares and is expected to strengthen Assam’s agricultural education and research network while giving students in the Barak Valley and nearby areas access to modern training and research facilities.In his speech, Modi attacked Congress, accusing it of neglecting the Barak Valley after Independence. He said Partition had cut the region off from sea routes and that successive Congress govts failed to improve connectivity.“Congress could not even think of undertaking a project worth ₹22,864 crore,” Modi said.He added that despite former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being elected from Assam several times, little had been done for the state’s farmers.Modi praised the BJP-led Assam govt under CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, saying the state had seen rapid progress in border village infrastructure, railway electrification, welfare measures for tea garden workers and the upcoming semiconductor project.