On Nagaland’s 61st Statehood Day, Rio calls for development in every respect

December 2, 2023 9 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Kohima | December 2

On Nagaland’s 61st Statehood Day, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio called upon the people of the state to “rededicate ourselves to the aim of making Nagaland a developed state in every respect.”

At the Statehood Day celebration at Nagaland Civil Secretariat Paza in Kohima, the Chief Minister reflected on the state’s collective journey thus far and on the “resilience of our society.” He honoured the “visionaries’ dedication and sacrifices that paved the way for our State’s formation with special constitutional guarantees.”

He asserted that on the path of development and progress, the government continues to give topmost priority to the peaceful resolution of the Naga Political Issue, “which has been the innermost desire of our people for a very long time.” “I reiterate my government’s strong commitment as a facilitator,” Rio stated.

He meanwhile pointed out that to address and redress the issue of ‘backwardness’ in Eastern Nagaland and some other pockets, the State Government, in 2003, had created the DUDA Department. He added that the central and state governments have been trying their best to remove developmental deficits, and assured that “we are committed towards upliftment.”

Listing out significant developments in the state, the Chief Minister cited the inauguration Nagaland’s first ever Medical College; the Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (NIMSR). The MBBS course with 100 students has commenced, he informed, adding that plans for constructing an attached 400 bedded hospital are underway.

One important initiative in the education sector is the World Bank funded NECTAR project, he further stated. Under it, the Department of School Education has started implementing a comprehensive Education Management Information System (EMIS), pioneering the Teacher Attendance Monitoring System (TAMS).

In the road sector, the CM said that the government has constructed/improved around 2,500 km roads in the State through the State PWD & other Central agencies. In the power sector, he said that construction of 220/132/33kV sub-station with associated transmission lines at Tsitrongse, Dimapur is being taken up by the Ministry DoNER.

A significant development in the field of women & child empowerment is the launching of Women & Child Development (WCD) Control Room & the integration of the existing Women Helpline-181 & the Child Helpline-1098; unifying it with the Emergency Response Support System-112, he CM noted.

Further he said that recognizing skill development is important in youth empowerment, the government has launched skill-building training programmes with guaranteed industrial connections. “We are collaborating with IBM Skill Build Program, Unnati Skill Centre, UNXT programs & Entrepreneurship Development Centres to impact lives. Our economy needs to be broad-based & growing multi-dimensionally, so as to create more employment opportunities. We need to invest more in human resource development,” he stressed.

Noting the commencement of the 24th Hornbill Festival today, the CM said “we can see that it has continuously grown in stature, reach and reputation to become an international event.” “Naga soft power is global and can be seen with the participation of USA, Germany & Colombia as foreign partners,” he said.