Newmai News Network Aizawl | November 11 In a historic event, Union Minister for Railways, Suresh Prabhaker Prabhu who arrived in Aizawl this morning on a special flight from Guwahati, laid the Foundation Stone of Sairang Railway Station at a function organised in the vicinity of the proposed station area in the presence of Governor of Mizoram, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma and Chief Minister of Mizoram Shri Lal Thanhawla. Sairang station is about 20 km from Aizawl and about 12 km from the lone Lengpui Airport. Speaking at the function, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhaker Prabhu said, “It is our commitment now to make sure that infrastructure development happen in Mizoram along with other 7 states of North East India.” He pointed out the strategic location and importance of Mizoram and said improving connectivity to Mizoram is critical. “Mizoram will continue to strive and will be in the top in capital income,” he said. Expressing his admiration for the hard working and happy nature of the people of Mizoram, he said Mizoram is the state of not only hard working people, but also the most peaceful state in the country. He said these things along with human capital are recipes for development and the only thing needed is infrastructure. Talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concern for North Eastern states, the Union Minister said the Prime Minister has vision for development of North Eastern states. He said that the central government gave top priority to development and enhancement of infrastructure in all North Eastern states and all the North Eastern capitals will be interconnected with the help of railway. “NE states will be taken care of more than rest of the country,” he added. Prabhu who came to Mizoram for the first time after taking charge as union minister for railway said the North East region has been neglected for so long in term of development and this region surely deserve development. “We must invest more of our time, energy and resources to make the region develop and make the Prime Minister’s vision realized in this region,” he said. Citing that the central government will try to make NE as an ideal model part of the country, Prabhu said the region should be looked for not only transit route but also a destination. He said that he would direct railway officials to design railway stations in the region, in future keeping in mind the local ethos of the place so that it reflects the iconic heritage and the ecology of the area. He added that the local people must benefit from infrastructure development. Touching on the abundant bamboo resources of the state he stressed on the need to create value addition on bamboo and asked the railway officials to explore the possibility of using more bamboo products, which he said would create more demand for bamboo products and in the process the Indian Railways would not only be an engine for growth but for also a catalyst for social transformation and economic empowerment. Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain who accompanied the union minister also spoke on the central government’s commitment in connecting all capital cities of North Eastern states by 2020 and expressed satisfaction on the progress of work on the railway project in Mizoram despite the difficult terrain and the prolonged monsoon. Also speaking at the function, Mizoram governor Nirbhay Sharma emphasised on the need to open up Mizoram in all directions using all means of connectivity and applauded the ongoing railway project of national importance connecting Mizoram to the rest of the country. He further said that Sairang would be the logistical node of Mizoram and requested the Railways Minister to provide special dispensations to the surrounding areas such as a hospital and a central school. Calling the laying of the foundation stone for Sairang Railway Station as a proud and momentous occasion for the people of Mizoram, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said this project would remove Mizoram’s isolation, open up better integration of the state with the rest of the country and would provide a boost to the economy of the state. Sairang Railway station building is planned as a modern iconic building depicting peace and progress. It will be a terminal station with all facilities including three passenger platform, foot over bridge, food plaza and other passenger amenities.
