Northeast First Expressway: Northeast gets the first high-speed corridor, Modi lays the foundation stone of a project worth ₹ 22,860 crore

News India Live, Digital Desk: The Prime Minister laid the foundation of this historic project during a huge public meeting held in Silchar (Assam). This corridor will not only connect Assam and Meghalaya, but will also prove to be a lifeline for Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur. 5 major features of the project Saving in distance and time: This 166 km long corridor will reduce the travel time between Guwahati and Silchar from 8.5 hours to just 5 hours. Access-control design: This will be the first expressway in the North-East which will be completely ‘access-controlled’. That is, it will have fixed entry and exit points for vehicular movement, which will ensure high speed and safety. Route Map: This corridor will start from Mawlingkhung (near Shillong) in Meghalaya and will go to Panchgram (near Silchar) in Assam. About 144 km of it will fall in Meghalaya and 22 km in Assam. Strategic importance: This corridor will become a major link for the trade routes connecting India with Myanmar and Bangladesh under the ‘Act East Policy’. Freedom from hilly obstacles: Currently, there is a problem of landslides and traffic jams on the hilly route of Haflong, this new greenfield alignment will bypass all those obstacles. Other major announcements made by the Prime Minister in Silchar Unveiled projects worth a total of ₹23,550 crore from Silchar, including:Assam Mala 3.0: Construction of over 900 km of roads at a cost of ₹3,200 crore.Elevated corridor: A new flyover on NH-306 to ease traffic in Silchar city.Agriculture College: Foundation stone laid for new agriculture college at Patharkandi in Karimganj. Attack on opposition: “Distance from Delhi and heart is over” PM Modi targeted Congress and said that for decades the Northeast was kept away from both ‘Delhi’ and ‘heart’. He said the “double engine” government has made the sector central to India’s development journey.