Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday visited Assam, where he greeted the over 11,000 Bihu performers who had Thursday set two Guinness World Records, besides launching the northeast region’s first All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) near Guwahati.
Modi was in the state for a day-long visit to mark Rongali Bihu, which ushers in Bohag or the first month of the Assamese calendar.
Hundreds of people lined the barricaded 5-km stretch through which Modi’s cavalcade travelled from Basistha to Sarusajai stadium in Guwahati, where the record-setting performance was held.
There were loud cheers and chants as Modi took the stage at the stadium to address a crowd of tens of thousands. As the Bihu performers greeted him with a reception, he said it was unlike anything he had “ever experienced before”.
On Thursday, Assam created two Guinness World Records at the venue — the world’s largest performance of traditional Bihu dance, and the largest performance by folk musicians. On Friday, certificates for the feat were handed out to the Assam government by the Guinness World Records authorities.
Modi greeted the audience in Assamese, and also quoted a stanza from Jyoti Sangeet — ‘Biswa Bijoy Nojawan’ — written by freedom fighter, playwright, poet and film-maker Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala to awaken the youth for the freedom struggle. The Prime Minister went on to recite the first few lines of the song, while seeking pardon for any wrong pronunciation.
“Biswa bijoy naujawan,
Shakti shali Bharator ulai aha, ulai aha,
Santan tumi biplabor…
“(O, you, the world-conquering youths
You who belong to a powerful India
Come forward, O, the children of revolution).”
The rendition drew a thunderous applause.
Emphasising connectivity and infrastructure development in Assam and the northeast, the Prime Minister said Assam is transforming into an “A-1 Pradesh”. The northeastern region, he added, has now seen peace with hundreds shunning the path of violence, and returning to the mainstream.
Citing the BJP’s slogan of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas, Sabka Prayaas (Progress for all, with everyone’s efforts)”, the Prime Minister sought to assure the crowd of his government’s continued support to the state government.
Also Read: Over 11,000 folk artistes dance & regale Assam to two Guinness records
Launches AIIMS, inaugurates 3 medical colleges
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister attended the ceremonial launch of the region’s first AIIMS — AIIMS Guwahati — with a function in Changsari, roughly 20 km away from the city. He also virtually inaugurated three medical colleges at Nalbari, Nagaon and Kokrajhar.
Greeting the gathering, Modi said healthcare infrastructure in the northeast had got a new boost with the setting up of the AIIMS, “which will benefit people not only from Assam, but also from Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur”.
“In the past 9 years, much has been discussed about connectivity and infrastructure in the northeast. Whoever visits the region today appreciates the rail and road network, and the airports here,” he added. “This apart, social infrastructure in the northeast including health and education sectors has seen speedy progress.”
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Assam Advanced Healthcare Innovation Institute at IIT-Guwahati — virtually — from the same event, and also ceremonially distributed Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY, government health insurance scheme) cards to 1.1 crore beneficiaries of Assam.
Prime Minister Modi was accompanied by Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Mansukh L. Mandaviya among others.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)