Shillong, Dec 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stones and inaugurated and dedicated to the nation multiple projects worth over Rs 2450 crores in Shillong.

The multiple projects include the inauguration of 320 completed and 890 under construction 4G mobile towers, the new campus of IIM Shillong at Umsawli, the Shillong – Diengpasoh Road which will provide better connectivity to new Shillong satellite township and four other roads projects across the three states viz. Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated Spawn Laboratory at Mushroom Development Center and Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre in Meghalaya and 21 Hindi libraries in Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Assam.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of six road projects across the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. He also laid the foundation stone of the Integrated Hospitality and Convention Centre at Tura and Shillong Technology Park Phase -II.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister remarked that Meghalaya is a state that is prosperous in nature and culture and this very prosperity is reflected through the warmth and welcoming nature of the people.

The Prime Minister drew everyone’s attention to the coincidence that the public function of today is taking place on a football field at the time when the football world cup is going on. “On the one hand, there is football competition going on, while here we are leading the competition of development in the football field. Even though the football world cup is taking place in Qatar, the enthusiasm of the people here is no less,” he remarked.

Drawing an analogy to the red card shown in football to a person who goes against the sportsman spirit, the Prime Minister remarked that the government has shown the red card to all the obstacles that come in the way of the development of North East. “Be it corruption, discrimination, nepotism, violence or vote-bank politics to disrupt the development in the region, we are working with dedication and honesty to uproot all these evils”, he remarked.

The Prime Minister pointed out that even though such evils are deeply rooted, we have to work towards eliminating each one of them. He further added that the efforts of the government are showing positive results.

Throwing light on the emphasis on sports development, the Prime Minister highlighted that the central government is moving forward with a new approach and its benefits can be clearly seen in the North Eastern regions as well. He informed that apart from India’s first sports university, the North Eastern region is well equipped with multiple infrastructures like multipurpose hall, football field and athletics track. He further added that work is underway on ninety such projects.

The Prime Minister said with assurance that even though we are looking at the international teams playing in the football world cup in Qatar, he firmly believes in the power of the youth and remarked that the day is not far when India will organise such a momentous tournament and every Indian will also cheer for our team that will take part in it.

“Development is not limited to budget, tenders, laying foundation stones and inaugurations,” the Prime Minister continued as he stated that such was the norm even before 2014, “the transformation that we witness today is a result of the change in our intentions, resolutions, priorities and our work culture. The results can be seen in our processes.”

The Prime Minister further elaborated that, “The resolution is to build a developed India with modern infrastructure, modern connectivity. The intention is to connect every region and section of India with the objective of rapid development through Sabka Prayas (everyone’s efforts). The priority is to remove deprivation, reduce distances, engage in capacity building, and give more opportunities to the youth. And the change in work culture signifies that every project and programme be completed within the time limit.”