by Bhupen Goswami 

GUWAHATI : Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Guwahati from Shillong this evening during his visit to the North Eastern State. Union Home Minister Amit Shah then visited Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati on Sunday. The Union Home Minister was accompanied by The Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a two-day visit to Meghalaya and Assam, attended various programmes including the foundation stone laying ceremony of Taulpur Medical College while addressing a public meeting in Guwahati on Sunday. Shah has later addressed a function at The Rich Sankardev Kalakshetra where he has launched several schemes of the state government.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah today launched cheques worth Rs 1 lakh each to the families of those who lost their lives from Covid in Assam in the rich Sankardev Kalakshetra. This is Shah’s first visit to the region since the April-May elections in Assam in which the BJP won. Both Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were active in the campaign for that victory.The Union Home Minister was accorded a warm welcome by the Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma at Gopinah Bordoloi International Airport. Ahead of the event, the Union Home Minister launched the Green Sohra Afforestation Campaign at Sohra (Cherrapunji) in Meghalaya this morning. Addressing the gathering, Home Minister Amit Shah said that the plantation drive will be carried out by the Meghalaya government in collaboration with Assam Rifles which will greatly benefit eco-tourism and also promote tourism in the state.

Amit Shah gave the slogan “Evergreen North East” highlighting the importance of plantation and plantation. The Home Minister said that earlier cherrapunji used to receive rain throughout the year but in the name of development, indiscriminate harvesting has changed the situation. He said an ambitious project to make Cherrapunji green again has begun today. Amit Shah said assam rifle is going to adopt the entire area of Cherrapunji in terms of plantation. He said that since trees are cut for fuel and other uses, 80% of the total land will be planted for traditional and long-life trees, the remaining 20% will be planted with cattle grazing, ornamental trees and nurseries to reduce the causes of long-life tree cutting while meeting all requirements.

This technique leads to multi-level farming and increases the forest 30 times faster and after 3 years it becomes free from maintenance. Shah said this will greatly benefit eco-tourism and also boost tourism in Meghalaya. Shah said that our India is intact because of the paramilitary forces deployed to protect the country’s borders. For the last two years, they have also taken over the responsibility of environmental reforms and so far planted one crore forty-eight lakh (1.48 crore) of which one crore thirty-six lakh (1.36 crore) plants are alive. He said that this year also, about 1 crore saplings will be planted in different areas by strategizing and a target of planting 1 million trees in 1000 hectares in the next three years.

The Union Home Minister said that today the whole world is fighting against global warming and climate change. Narendra Modi ji has worked to prevent carbon emissions by reaching a large number of domestic gas stoves in the country and Today India is at the forefront of hydro power and solar power. Shah said that with Modiji’s proposed action plan in the Paris Agreement, the whole world is fighting against global warming and carbon emissions. Shah said that the battle that we are going to fight cannot succeed without the cooperation of the general public on zilla panchayat, taluka panchayat staphar. Shah called upon all panchayats across the country to cooperate in plantation programmes being carried out by paramilitary forces from place to place, share their hands and connect their strength with them to help the paramilitary forces plant one crore saplings and keep them alive.In his address, Amit Shah said that under the North-Eastk Special Infrastructure Scheme under The Prime Minister’s ambitious Project Jal Jeevan Mission, the Ministry of Donor and the Government of Meghalaya are to take pure drinking water to every household, every household in the country through taps from the Greater Sohra Water Project at a cost of Rs. Shah said that if the source of water is not pure, it will not remain human, so Modiji has taken the aim of providing pure drinking water to the State of Meghalaya and every household in the country by the completion of 75 years of the country’s independence and 50 years of Meghalaya.

Meghalaya state has an ambitious programme to provide drinking water to 2,80,000 families which has been divided into 1874 small projects. Shri Amit Shah said that the task of delivering such an ambitious project in this difficult area is very important and challenging.400 crores so far and as the work progresses and allocations will be made. Shri Shah said that assam rifles have a history of completing all the work that has been given to them in 180 years in time. As part of the plantation drive launched at the initiative of Home Minister Amit Shah, all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are planting trees across the country today. More than 16 lakh 31 thousand saplings will be planted today under this campaign. Amit Shah lays wreath at statue of Swami Vivekananda at Ramakrishna Mission in Sohra. He also attended the puja programme. Shah also met dignitaries of Ramakrishna Mission.