Country cannot afford to neglect North-East: Shekhawat

New Delhi, Mar 16 (UNI) Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat today underlined that poverty, unemployment, inadequacy of physical and economic infrastructure were the reasons for discontent among the people of he North-East and called for holistic development of the region.

The country just cannot afford to neglect a region which has the potential to contribute enormously to the nation's development, he said.

Expressing his great faith in the capacity and will of the people of the North-East, he hoped they will get engaged in ensuring the region's economic success and cultural regeneration.

Mr Shekhawat was speaking after releasing the book 'Peace and Development in Northeast : a Virtuous Spiral', authored by Dr P L Sanjeev Reddy and P C Shekar Reddy.

He said the North-East region had contributed immensely to our composite cultural heritage, underlying the principle of the unity in diversity.

''There is a need to harness the untapped potential of the region, which is uniquely endowed with rich and varied resources through thoughtful strategy and coordinated endeavours so as to ensure sustainable and equitable development of the region,'' said the Vice President.

He expressed satisfaction the government was making determined efforts to address the problems of the North-East, based on the ground realities and comprehensive understanding of the history, topography, demography, culture and politics of the region.

Mr Shekhawat complimented IIPA for bringing out this well researched publication.

Minister of Tribal Welfare P R Kyndiah and Dr P L Sanjeev Reddy, Director, IIPA also spoke on this occasion.

UNI