May 26 was an epochal day in recent Indian political history. Like a tidal wave, Narendra Modi swept to power in Delhi after UPA’s decadal misrule, winning a majority for the BJP for the first time, minus allies.
Three years on, prime minister Modi will spend May 26 in the North East. He is expected to address the nation from there after a series of events in Assam.
It once again emphasises the importance that Modi attaches to the area, given the rising threat perception from China and its angularities predicated on Arunachal Pradesh, as witnessed after the Dalai Lama’s recent visit there.
The BJP itself has enlarged its presence in the region, winning Assam and installing governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. It is expected that PM Modi may make a dramatic announcement from here.
On May 26, the PM will cover almost 1,000 km in the region beginning his visit in a remote northern district, Sadiya, to open India’s longest river bridge, the 9.5 km Sadiya-Dhola link across the Lohit, the main stream of the mighty Brahmaputra.
The bridge, which will ease connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, is a military-grade river expressway, capable of carrying heavy infantry and will provide swift road access to the sensitive state.
Modi will then travel to an adjoining district, Dhemaji, to inaugurate an agriculture centre in Gogamukh. He then proceeds to Guwahati, where he will remotely lay the foundation ceremony of an All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the first in the North East, at the Sarusajai stadium.
The proposed medical college will come up at Changsari in Kamrup (Rural) district, 28.5 km from Guwahati across the Brahmaputra.
The prime minister will conclude his trip with a political rally at Khanapara, straddling the Assam-Meghalaya border, which is likely to be well attended.
He may also use this platform to make some sort of big political and economic announcement, but details available are sketchy on the matter.
The highly strategic Dhola-Sadia bridge, longer than Mumbai’s Bandra-Worli Sealink by 3.55 km, has been created to carry T-72 tanks.
Once commissioned, it will take 30 minutes to cross over to Sadia near the Lohit border in Arunachal, reducing the travel time by four hours.
It will also ease access to the Army cantonment at Walong and the vital Kibithu town in Anjaw district bordering China and Myanmar, changing the contours of any war doctrine on the Chinese front.
