The Indian Air Force on Saturday conducted an aerial display at the Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) located at Moran Bypass in Dibrugarh, in which Sukhoi Su-30MKI and Rafale fighter aircraft took off in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries.
Prime Minister Modi witnessed aerial displays of fighter planes, transport planes and helicopters.
Earlier in Dibrugarh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal welcomed PM Modi on the stage.
The ELF is the first device of its kind in North-East India. It has been designed and built in coordination with the Indian Air Force to support landing and takeoff of military and civilian aircraft during emergency situations.
It will act as a vital resource for emergency response, enabling rapid deployment of rescue and relief operations during natural disasters or strategic exigencies in the North-East.
Envisioned as a dual-use infrastructure, the ELF is capable of handling combat aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of up to 40 tonnes and transport aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of up to 74 tonnes.
Later, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate and flag off development projects worth over Rs 5,450 crore aimed at strengthening connectivity, digital infrastructure, higher education and urban mobility in the northeastern region.
At around 1 pm, the Prime Minister will inspect the newly constructed Kumar Bhaskar Verma Bridge on the Brahmaputra River. After this, at around 1:30 pm, he will inaugurate and flag off development projects worth over Rs 5,450 crore at Lachit Ghat in Guwahati.
Apart from this, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the Kumar Bhaskar Verma Setu on the Brahmaputra river, which has been built at a cost of about Rs 3,030 crore. This six-lane bridge connects Guwahati to North Guwahati and is the first of its kind in Northeast India. This will reduce the travel time between Guwahati and North Guwahati to seven minutes.
Given the high seismicity in this area, the bridge is fitted with base insulation using friction pendulum bearings. High-performance stay cables have been used to ensure durability and long-term structural performance.
A Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS) is also included to monitor the condition of the extradosed bridge in real time, detect damage early and improve safety and service life.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the National Data Center for the North-Eastern Region at Amingaon in Kamrup district of Assam.
The state-of-the-art data centre, with a total sanctioned capacity of 8.5 MW and an average rack capacity of 10 kW, will host mission-critical applications for various government departments and act as a disaster recovery center for other national data centres.
This will help the North Eastern governments to provide essential citizen-centric services digitally.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office statement, in line with the vision of Digital India, the National Data Center for the North Eastern Region is envisaged as a strategic initiative to strengthen the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) backbone of the region and ensure robust, secure and always available digital infrastructure.
The inauguration of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) is another significant achievement for the state, as IIM Guwahati is set to give a big boost to higher and management education in the north-eastern region.
More than 225 electric buses will be flagged off under the PM-eBus service scheme in Guwahati (100), Nagpur (50), Bhavnagar (50) and Chandigarh (25).
With the commencement of e-bus operations under the PM-eBus service scheme in these four cities, more than 5 lakh citizens are expected to benefit from clean, affordable and reliable public transport services, which will improve urban mobility and enhance the quality of life.
