Itanagar, April 10: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday issued a caution to China without naming it that India is now protecting its border in a way that no one can intrude even an inch and look at India’s border with an eye for expansion of its territory.
After launching India’s vibrant village programme (VVP) from Kibithoo in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw, Amit Shah said, “We can proudly say, the days are over when people can intrude into our land, now they cannot intrude even a needle like space. We have taken border protection with utmost importance, no one can intrude our borders, no one can try to mess with our army; we are working on border infrastructure, we can only say Modi govt in two terms has done far more development for border area development then 12 terms of Congress.”
Kibithoo is about 11 KM away from the LAC with China and about 40 km away from the India, China and Myanmar tri-junction.
“This is the area where the first light of sun reaches every morning in the country making this land dawn lit. First people called this as the last village of the country, but now we call it the first village of India, that is the conceptual change PM Modi has brought,” he said adding that “in Kibithoo in the 1962 war, six personnel of kumoan regiment fought bravely.”
The Union Home Minister is on a two day visit to the remotest villages along the LAC with China in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district from Monday.
Global Times, China state-affiliated media, has reported that when asked about Indian Union Home Minister’s visit to the so-called Arunachal Pradesh, Chinese FM spokesperson said the minister’s visit has violated China’s territorial sovereignty & China firmly opposes it as the region of Zangnan is China’s territory.
Shah’s visit comes close on the heels of China’s release of Chinese names for places in Arunachal, an attempt seen as China’s bid to lay claims on Arunachal Pradesh which India has been vehemently opposing.
With central components of Rs 4,800 crore including Rs 2500 crore exclusively for road connectivity for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26, the VVP would be implemented in 2,967 villages in 19 districts abutting borders in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and UT of Ladakh.
Under VVP programme all round development would take place in the identified border villages aiming to improve the quality of life of people living in border villages and encourage the villagers to stay in their native locations thereby reversing the outmigration from these villages and adding to security of the border.
In the first phase, 662 villages have been identified for priority coverage, which includes 455 villages in Arunachal Pradesh.
The focus areas of interventions identified for development of villages include road connectivity, drinking water, electricity including solar and wind energy, mobile and internet connectivity, tourist centers, multi-purpose centers and healthcare infrastructure and wellness centers.
India ‘s Vibrant Village Programme (VVP) is seen as the counter to the 628 model ‘xiaokang’ (moderately well-off) villages built by China along the LAC.
