Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, FEBRUARY 12
A two-day national conference on ‘Mainstreaming the North East Region’ got underway in Kohima today with the objective to bring together all the North Eastern states, discuss the problems and the potentials of the region and explore ideas for its growth and development.
The event is being organized by the Planning & Coordination department Nagaland in collaboration with Delhi-based Association for Environment and Development Research (AEDR), with the support of the Government of India. The conference is focusing on major issues such as connectivity, constraints in the growth of agricultural sector, infrastructure, trade and security, and industrialization among others.
Chief Minister TR Zeliang, who graced the inaugural session of the conference this morning at De Oriental Grand, exhorted the participants to consider both the physical and emotional aspects when they deliberate on mainstreaming the NE region. Stating that ‘physical mainstreaming’ in the area of economic development and ‘emotional mainstreaming’ in the area of culture and social life cannot be isolated altogether, Zeliang maintained that it would be more effective if concerted actions are taken simultaneously on both fronts.
For mainstreaming and integration of NE region, he emphasized that better connectivity between the region and mainland India is of utmost importance. He said connectivity in terms of railway, roadway and by air, and also in terms of media through newspapers, television, internet etc. have to be improved and such experiences will gradually remove any feeling of isolation or geographical remoteness felt by the people of the region. Zeliang also pointed out the need to set up more technical and management institutes in the northeast in view that till now, it is a one-way traffic whereby students from NE go to mainland India for higher & technical education as well as for employment in the corporate private sector.
All these, he feels, would help in making the region central and strategic in terms of international trade and development, precisely what the country’s Look East and Act East Policy aims to achieve for the NE region, he added.
He also stressed on the need to open up the land-locked areas of Indo-Myanmar border so that the people living in the border areas are also taken along in the process of development and mainstreaming. “What we need in these border areas is not barbed wire fencing, but construction of roads along and across the border to ‘unlock the land-locked areas’, and to promote trade and development,” the Chief Minister stated.
Meanwhile, the message of Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti for the conference conveyed through a video was screened during the inaugural programme. She acknowledged that the NE region is dependent on agriculture and hence growth can be achieved through agriculture related industries. She said the people of the region are very laborious and their resources are available in sufficient quantity for growth of industries. “Especially in Nagaland, there is lot of scope for the growth of the micro and small industries,” she said.
In her message, the Union Minister also conveyed that the goal of growth for NE can be achieved through agriculture dependent processing industries and such agriculture related industries can be established with low capital. In this regard, she said the Government wants that food processing industries should be developed and provides financial support to promote such industries. She stated that food processing industries is one of the integral part of the ‘Make in India’ campaign.
Acknowledging the participation of experts, industry players from food processing industries at the conference, the minister called upon them that their discussions should be done on opportunities and possibilities for establishing new industries in the NE region so that it can develop. The region’s infrastructure and food processing industries should be developed with the support of local technologies so that the local people gets employment, business and trade will grow, and the income of the people will increase, she added.
Earlier in the programme, the welcome address was delivered by AEDR secretary & JNU professor Manoj Pant while Director PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Durgesh C Sharma purposed the vote of thanks. Besides various paper presentations and discussions, networking of experts, producers and entrepreneurs is also being conducted as part of the conference.
