Silchar: Union minister for ports, shipping & waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday officially embarked on the campaign trail for the assembly elections and asserted that the Barak Valley has been transformed from an “isolated island of neglect” into a strategic “gateway to Southeast Asia” under the NDA regime.Addressing rallies at the Doloo Tea Estate in the Udharbond constituency and Silchar city, Sonowal campaigned for BJP candidates Kishore Nath (Borkhola) and Rajdeep Roy (Silchar). He underscored the party’s vision of “Samanyay” — the integration of the Barak, Brahmaputra, hills, and plains — as the bedrock of the state’s holistic growth.Lashing out at decades of “Congress-led neglect,” the Union minister highlighted a series of infrastructure milestones that he claimed has redefined the region’s economy.“Before 2016, connectivity challenges made a trip even to Guwahati a struggle,” Sonowal said. “Today, with the near completion of the East-West Corridor and the foundation stone laid for the Rs 23,000 crore Shillong–Silchar high-speed corridor, the Barak Valley is emerging as a critical hub for trade and tourism.”Key projects he highlighted during the rallies included development of a new Greenfield airport near the Doloo tea garden, expansion of services with over 20 regular trains, including Vistadome and Rajdhani and the revival of the Barak River with upgraded terminals at Badarpur and Karimganj to facilitate trade with Bangladesh and beyond.Sonowal also said over 600 development projects in Silchar, including a solid waste treatment plant and a 500-bed emergency unit at Silchar Medical College have been developed over the years.
