Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the day is not far when every part of the country, including Chhattisgarh, will be free from Maoist violence. Addressing the Chhattisgarh Silver Jubilee celebrations in Raipur today, the Prime Minister said that due to Maoist terror, tribal regions of Chhattisgarh were deprived of basic facilities such as roads, schools and hospitals for a long time.
He stated that the government resolved to rid the nation of the menace of Naxalism. As a result, while eleven years ago one hundred and twenty-five districts in the country were affected by Maoist violence, the problem is now confined to only three districts with limited impact. Mr. Modi said that in recent months a large number of Maoists have laid down arms, joined the mainstream and accepted the Constitution of India. The Prime Minister added that today, regions like Bastar in Chhattisgarh are experiencing an atmosphere of celebration instead of fear.
On this occasion, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth over fourteen thousand crore rupees. These projects are primarily related to roads, industry, healthcare and the energy sector. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, nearly three and a half lakh families across Chhattisgarh entered their new pucca houses today.
During the Chhattisgarh Silver Jubilee celebrations today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth over fourteen thousand crore rupees. To strengthen rural livelihoods, the Prime Minister launched twelve new Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme blocks across nine districts of the state. He also released an instalment of twelve hundred crore rupees to three lakh beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin.
In a major boost to healthcare services in Chhattisgarh, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for five new government medical colleges in Manendragarh, Kabirdham, Janjgir-Champa, Geedam and Bilaspur, along with a government Ayurveda college and hospital in Bilaspur.
The Prime Minister also dedicated the Nagpur-Jharsuguda natural gas pipeline, stretching nearly five hundred kilometres and constructed at a cost of around twenty thousand crore rupees. This pipeline will connect eleven districts of Chhattisgarh to the national gas grid.
During his one-day visit to Raipur today, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the new building of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly and unveiled the statue of former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee on its premises. He also dedicated the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Memorial and the Tribal Freedom Fighters’ Museum in Nava Raipur. Earlier, the Prime Minister interacted with nearly two thousand five hundred children at the Shri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital in Nava Raipur under the ‘Dil Ki Baat’ programme. These children have successfully undergone free treatment for congenital heart diseases at the hospital. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Shanti Shikhar of the Brahma Kumaris in Nava Raipur, a modern centre for spiritual learning, peace and meditation