Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday laid the foundation stones of the country's second National Institute of Design (NID) at Jorhat and the Assam centre of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT) at Sivasagar.
Dr. Singh hoped that the two institutes would help the local youth to gain the knowledge and skills to exploit the opportunities created by new projects and spread knowledge of traditional design of northeast region and the country across the world.
The first National Institute of Design was set up in Ahmedabad 50 years ago.
“Timely initiative”
Dr. Singh described the NID Jorhat as “a timely and welcome initiative” and said the institute should leverage the traditional craftsmanship of the region and help in giving a new life to the traditional arts and crafts in this area.
“At the same time, the institute should come out with eco-friendly design for adoption by the people of north east for modern industrial goods so that the modernisation and preservation of the ecosystem can go hand in hand. The promotion of the textile sector in the region as well as the initiatives under the National Bamboo Mission should also get support from this institute,” he added.
At Sivasagar, the Prime Minister said the establishment of the Assam Centre of the RGIPT would be a testimony to continuing commitment of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to the development of the northeast. The main campus of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology is coming up at Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.
The RGIPT will be of world class standard and produce technical personnel capable of serving as leaders and innovators in the fields of petroleum technology, engineering and management, covering the entire hydrocarbon value chain.
From September
The Assam centre would start its first academic session from September this year, he added. The centre would be beneficial for the northeast as the region was richly endowed with hydrocarbons.
The institute would help local youth to gain the knowledge and skills to exploit the opportunities created by new projects such as the Assam Gas Cracker Project and the resultant downstream industries, he added.
Development projects
Dr. Singh hoped that development projects already initiated and some to be commissioned shortly by the UPA government would be able to address the development deficit of Assam. These include the Rs.5,500-crore Assam Gas Cracker project, gauge conversion of Lumding-Silchar-Jiribam railway line, Bogibeel rail-cum-road project, construction of the Dhola Sadiya and Numali-Gohpur bridges, four-laning of NH-37 on the Nagaon-Jorhat-Dibrugarh stretch, upgradation of several National Highways, the Ledo Opencast mining project, project for the preservation of cultural heritage of Majuli Natun Kamalabari Satra, the comprehensive project for protecting the Rohmoria area and Majuli Island from erosion and Bongaigaon Thermal Power project.
In the morning the Prime Minister visited Haligaon of Rampur near Palasbari in lower Assam's Kamrup district where he inspected a project aimed at uplifting minority people under the Multi Sectoral Development Programme and interacted with some beneficiaries.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi also spoke at both the foundation stone laying functions while Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister S. Jaipal Reddy spoke at the foundation stone laying ceremony at Sivasagar.
Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region B.K. Handique spoke at the function at Jorhat.
