GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will land on a highway airstrip on the Moran bypass in Assam’s Dibrugarh on Saturday, and witness an aerial display of fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) undertook successful trials on the 4.2-km stretch two days ago. This emergency landing facility (ELF) is the first of its kind in the Northeast and strategically important considering that the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh is just a few hundred kilometres away.
The ELF has been specially designed and constructed in coordination with the IAF to support the landing and take-off of military and civil aircraft during emergencies.
“It will serve as a critical asset for emergency response, enabling quick deployment of rescue and relief operations during natural disasters or strategic requirements in the Northeast,” an official statement said.
Envisioned as dual-use infrastructure, the ELF is capable of handling fighter aircraft up to 40 tonnes and transport aircraft up to 74 tonnes maximum take-off weight.
During the day-long visit, Modi will inaugurate several key projects aimed at accelerating connectivity, strengthening digital infrastructure, promoting higher education, and enhancing public transport, thereby giving a significant boost to development in the region.
He will inaugurate Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu, built at a cost of around Rs 3,030 crore across the Brahmaputra. The 6-lane extradosed Prestressed Concrete bridge connects Guwahati with North Guwahati and is the first extradosed bridge in the Northeast. It will cut travel time between Guwahati and North Guwahati to seven minutes.
Considering the high seismicity of the region, the bridge incorporates base isolation technology using friction pendulum bearings. High-performance stay cables have been used to ensure durability and long-term structural performance. A Bridge Health Monitoring System has also been incorporated for real-time condition monitoring, early damage detection and improved safety and service life of the extradosed bridge.
Modi will also inaugurate the National Data Centre for the region in Kamrup district. The state-of-the-art centre, with a total sanctioned load of 8.5 MW and an average rack capacity of 10 kW per rack, will host mission-critical applications of various government departments and also function as a Disaster Recovery centre for other National Data Centres.
“The Prime Minister will flag off 225 electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme in Guwahati (100), Nagpur (50), Bhavnagar (50) and Chandigarh (25). With the launch of e-bus operations under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme in these four cities, more than 50 lakh citizens are expected to benefit through access to clean, affordable and reliable public transport services, contributing to improved urban mobility and enhanced quality of life,” the statement further stated.