New Delhi: Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated various developmental projects worth Rs 3,500 crore for Manipur virtually on Saturday (March 9) at City Convention Centre, Palace Compound in Imphal, Imphal Free Press reported. Notably, the prime minister neither visited the northeastern state nor made any comment on the ongoing ethnic clashes which erupted in Manipur in May 2023.
Speaking to media persons, Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh said that the inaugurated projects included Unity Mall which will have separate stalls for all recognised communities of the state, infrastructure development of Manipur Technical University, football grounds with natural grass in seven different locations, two road projects under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS), two national highway projects (Imphal-Jiribam, Ukhrul-Taloi-Tadubi) and four bridges under Setu Bandhan, water supply schemes under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), among others.
The programme in Imphal was attended by Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education R.K. Ranjan Singh, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Maharajah Leishemba Sanajaoba, Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi, DGP Rajiv Singh and other dignitaries.
Singh wrote on X (previously called Twitter) that the Unity Mall will “provide a space for promotion and marketing of various local products”.
Inspected the site for the construction of the upcoming Unity Mall, for which the foundation stone was virtually laid by Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi ji today.
The upcoming mall will provide a space for promotion and marketing of various local products of the… pic.twitter.com/OHOYpTYbMD
— N.Biren Singh (Modi Ka Parivar) (@NBirenSingh) March 9, 2024
The inauguration event was a part of the foundation stone laying programme for various projects worth Rs 55,600 crore under the ‘Viksit Bharat Viksit North East’ initiative for six states — Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh — at IG Park, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.
Also read: What’s Behind the Manipur Violence and Why Stopping It Poses a Test For Modi
Further, Singh asserted that the state government has sent recommendations for immediate implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur. He underlined that a legal process has been initiated to deport a large number of alleged Myanmarese nationals from the state.