Guwahati, Oct 09: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday sought 5 years’ time fully solve the perennial flood problem in Assam and stated the government is striving to make the herbal calamity part of history.
Addressing a BJP workers’ assembly after inaugurating the Party’s newly constructed state office, Shah stated an “ambitious” flood mitigation assignment is being organized at the moment.
“In the BJP manifesto, we had promised an Assam free from terrorism, corruption, and flood. We’ve already achieved the first two. Give us 5 more years, we will make Assam free from flood,” he stated.
Almost every year, three to four waves of flood ravage Assam.
According to the Economic Survey of Assam for 2021-22, the common annual loss because of the catastrophe is to the song of Rs 200 crore, and especially in 1998, the loss was around Rs 500 crore and it was Rs 771 crore in 2004.
Shah said that he has already mentioned the hassle at duration with the numerous stakeholders on Friday evening, and “an ambitious project” is being organized under the aegis of the North Eastern Council (NEC).
“In 5 years, the flood might be history. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is decided to make Assam a flood-free state,” he stated.
During a meeting on Friday, Shah had requested the Assam authorities to plan a long-time period plan to shield the northeastern state from the flood so that more development can take place.
The union home minister additionally said that his party believes in strengthening internal security so that laws like Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) are not needed in society, and its application has already been withdrawn from around 80 percent of the northeastern region.
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“AFSPA is safety for military and protection forces. Rahul Gandhi had introduced that AFSPA could be withdrawn if his party’s authorities involves power. I had stated that protection forces want to be strengthened,” he stated.
Taking a dig at the Congress’ ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Shah claimed that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had stated goodbye to Assam throughout the 1962 India-China war, and the grand old party “had forgotten” that northeast (NE) even existed.
This region is three times the size of UP and it was full of separatist and insurgent movements. The Congress watched silently the attempts to break NE. Only Modi worked for this place and united the NE.
“The Congress and those who went for (its) ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, please listen. This is an example of how the northeast was united without giving a single lecture. Northeast is a ‘Bharat Jodo’ instance set through Modi,” he added.
Shah asserted that Assam stayed with India throughout the partition because of the efforts of former Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi.
“The Congress destroyed the northeast. Hundreds of groups had been formed to work against India. In 2014, an exalternate passed off and the Narendra Modi authorities got here to power. It is Modi who spent lakhs of crores to increase the area,” he claimed.
The union home minister stated that several big-ticket infrastructure projects were implemented in the northeast in the last eight years and the development works united the region.
“Thousands of youths had in earlier taken up palms in NE. Bandhs and agitation had been exercised here, and improvement changed into stalled. Today, it’s far acknowledged for peace and improvement,” he asserted.
Shah additionally hailed the Assam authorities for “freeing” Kaziranga National Park from encroachment and rhino poaching, “stopping” cow smuggling via the Bodoland area, and “preventing” unlawful buying and selling of supari (areca nut).
The government is also on track to fulfill its target of paddy procurement from Assam at the minimum support price (MSP) and setting up medical colleges in each district of the state, he added.
Amit Shah also asserted that seizing narcotics alone cannot make the country drug-free and enforcement agencies must aim at destroying all channels between traffickers and final consumers.
Addressing the nearby assembly on ‘Drug Trafficking and National Security’ here, the home minister stated under ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, a goal to ruin 75,000 kg of narcotics changed into set however under the management of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to this point over 1.5 lakh kg narcotics has been destroyed, that is greater than double the goal set.
He stated, the prime minister has a dream to make the country drug-free and for this, a coordinated effort is necessary between central and state agencies.
The protection of the kingdom can simplest be ensured if drug trafficking and all associated channels are destroyed as insurgency, palms smuggling, and different anti-countrywide sports are connected to trafficking, he stated.
“Insurgency together with palms exchange and drug trafficking are facets of a coin,” he stated.
The domestic minister advised the law-enforcing, health, sales, and social sales departments to undertake a twin-pronged method to make sure that drug trafficking is stopped.
“We need to be harsh with the traffickers whilst at the equal time the sufferers need to be treated sensitively,” he stated.
