Arunachal Pradesh
Celebrating 24 years of Statehood

Arunachal Pradesh, the region of India which sees the sun first, celebrated its 24th Statehood Day at Indira Gandhi Park at Itanagar recently. The Chief Guest of the occasion was Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah. While speaking at the occasion he said that Arunachal Pradesh has had to travel quite a long stretch before making progress. “It is a great pleasure to be in Arunachal Pradesh. Though lagging years behind on the development front, I would like to see a bright Arunachal Pradesh in the coming years,” said Dr. Abdullah.

He felt that once Arunachal Pradesh improves its connectivity, the way will be paved for the improvement of the state’s economy. “With the coming of railways and airports and improvement in surface transport communication, I see no reason why Arunachal Pradesh can not make it to the top. With land and air linkages, there will be a fair increase in the number of tourists coming to Arunachal Pradesh. Through tourism, Arunachal Pradesh can really rise to the level of the other leading states of the country,” stated Dr. Abdullah.

It may be noted here that in spite of attaining statehood 24 years ago, roads and communication in the region are still very poor. Many parts of the state are not accessible by roads. For example, in a village called Vijaynagar in Arunachal Pradesh, the villagers are connected to the outside world only through the help of the Indian Air Force whose services for the village are run with the help of the Arunachal Pradesh Transport authority and the Central Government initiatives. The lack of connectivity invariably means that commodities in the village itself are extremely costly. In fact, a single bag of cement in the village costs an astounding Rs. 4000.

Dr. Abdullah also stressed the need for electrifying the villages in border areas as has already been stressed by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and further stated that his ministry would extend all possible help in this regard.

On the occasion, as many as 30 participants including government officials, police personnel and two civilians were given State Awards. Three new mini – power projects namely Nyuri – Mago (4000 KW), Thingbu (3000 KW) and Tawang Gompachu (3000 KW), all in Tawang district were also unveiled by Dr. Farooq Abdullah.