PM to visit Arunachal after rainy season: Apang

Itanagar, June 12 (UNI) The two-day maiden visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Arunachal Pradesh from tomorrow, has been deferred to an earliest convenient date after the rainy season, according to state Chief Minister Gegong Apang.

The Prime Minister reassured Mr Apang that the visit to Arunachal Pradesh was long overdue and he was keen to come to the state at the earliest possible date.

Mr Apang said here yesterday that as rains in the state have already started, the Prime Minister would visit Arunachal Pradesh as soon as the season ends.

Disclosing that the Prime Minister has cleared a long-pending demand for a civilian airport at Itanagar, Mr Apang said construction of an airport would give a boost to the overall economic development of the state.

The Prime Minister would announce many more development packages for the state during his forthcoming visit, said Mr Apang.

He further said that as part of the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in the North East (SAEDP-NE), seven major road projects in Arunachal Pradesh have been approved by the Cabinet committee on Economic Affairs of the Central Government. The seven roads include, Yingkion - Bishing state road, Taliha -Tato Inter Basin state road and Indo - Myanmar State road. Necessary funds for the projects have also been earmarked, he added.

Citing the decision of the Centre to convert Rajiv Gandhi University into a Central University, Mr Apang said the Central University status to Rajiv Gandhi University was a commitment from none other than Congress president Sonia Gandhi and efforts were afoot to bring a Bill in Parliament in this connection.

Expressing his gratitude to both the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi for taking keen interest in the economic development of the state, Mr Apang said the days are not far off when Arunachal Pradesh would become an economically self-reliant state.

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