On Saturday (November 19), Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Arunachal Pradesh’s first greenfield airport, Donyi Polo Airport, near Itanagar’s Hollongi, as well as a 600-MW Kameng hydropower project in West Kameng district, in a big boost to transportation and tourism in the north-east.
In 2019, PM Modi opened the renovated Tezu Airport and laid the groundwork for the Greenfield Airport in Hollongi, Arunachal Pradesh. The terminal at Hollongi, which has a peak processing capacity of 200 persons per hour, is built at a cost of around 955 crores, according to an official release. The airport, which is the first greenfield airport in Arunachal, is constructed across an area of over 690 acres for a budget of more than 640 crores.
PM @narendramodi inaugurates Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar pic.twitter.com/ZFegiHwJOV
— DD News (@DDNewslive) November 19, 2022
According to the official statement, “The airport terminal is a modern building, which promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy and the recycling of resources. Donyi Polo Airport will be the third operational airport for Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total airport count in the North-East region to 16. From 1947 to 2014, only nine airports were built in the North-East. In a short span of eight years since then, the Modi government has built seven airports in the North-East.”
“Aircraft movement in the North-East has also witnessed an increase of 113 per cent since 2014, from 852 per week in 2014 to 1817 per week in 2022,” the statement adds.
The airport’s name symbolises Arunachal Pradesh’s traditions and rich cultural legacy, as well as its age-old indigenous veneration for the Sun (‘Donyi’) and the Moon (‘Polo’). It will be Arunachal Pradesh’s first airport, with a 2,300-metre runway capable of landing and taking off a Boeing 747, one of the largest passenger planes.
According to the PMO, the airport would not only increase connectivity in the region but will also serve as a stimulus for the expansion of commerce and tourism, hence boosting the region’s economic and social development.
Kameng Hydropower Project
The Kameng hydro project, which spans more than 80 kilometres in the West Kameng district, was built at a cost of more than Rs 8,450 crore. It is intended to generate a power surplus in Arunachal Pradesh and improve the national grid in terms of reliability and interoperability. It will make a significant contribution to the country’s ambition towards green energy adaptation.
Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi
Following his visit to Arunachal Pradesh, PM Modi is slated to inaugurate the month-long Kashi-Tamil Samagam at Kashi Hindu Vishvavidyalaya in Varanasi today. The program’s goal is to honour, reaffirm, and reestablish the long-standing ties between Tamil Nadu and Kashi, two of the country’s most important and historic centres of knowledge.
“Looking forward to attending the Kashi Tamil Sangamam event in Varanasi. It will be such a grand and historic occasion, in which a wonderful confluence of cultural connect of India and beauty of Tamil language will be seen,” PM Modi tweeted on Friday.
वाराणसी में होने वाले काशी तमिल संगमम् कार्यक्रम में शामिल होने को लेकर बहुत उत्सुक हूं। यह एक ऐसा भव्य और ऐतिहासिक अवसर होगा, जिसमें भारत के सांस्कृतिक जुड़ाव और तमिल भाषा की सुंदरता का अद्भुत संगम देखने को मिलेगा। pic.twitter.com/i6JloirlwQ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2022
The programme intends to emphasise the Tamil language and culture while celebrating the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.’ The administration has jumped into action to host the ‘Kashi-Tamil Samagam’ in the holy city of Varanasi on a huge scale in order to offer the people of Uttar Pradesh a taste of Dravidian culture, as well as Tamil Nadu food and entertainment.
The PMO said in the statement, “More than 2500 delegates from Tamil Nadu will be visiting Kashi. They will participate in seminars, site visits etc to interact with local people of similar trade, profession and interest. A month-long exhibition of handlooms, handicrafts, ODOP products, books, documentaries, cuisine, art forms, history, tourist places etc of the two regions will also be put up in Kashi.”
