What is North East India ? Why is it called the Seven sisters ?
North-East India is the group of seven Indian states which are located in the north east part of India. They are collectively known as North-East India . It is bordered by China, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
About North-East India
North-East India is one of the most captivating places in India, if not in the world, located in India's Northeastern Region, comprising of 7 states, known collectively as Seven Sisters. Today, North-East India comprises of 8 states, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura often called as the Seven Sisters, and Sikkim is often called the brother to the Seven States.
Flanked by hills, with the mighty Brahmaputra River cutting a central route between its north and south, the Northeast is bordered by Arunachal Pradesh, of which Assam forms its core. Northeast India comprises of the seven Indian states, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, and Mizoram. Northeast India is composed of seven distinct, yet contiguous states, plus the independent Sikkim, and is India's most tribal region. Commonly known as the seven sister states, northeast India is a confluence of rolling hills, rolling valleys, and peaceful villages.
One of the most ethically and linguistically diverse regions of Asia, each state has its own distinctive cultures and traditions. North-Eastern India is surrounded by Bhutan, China, and Myanmar, and are nearly separated from the rest of India by Bangladesh.
The eastern Himalayas, Meghalaya Plateau in the south, and Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur hills in the east affect climate of the region.
If you wish to experience the snowfalls of northeast India, a few places that you must visit include Gangtok, Katao, Yumthang valley, and Nathu La in Sikkim, while Tawang, Bomdila, and the Mechuka Valley are all located in Arunachal Pradesh.
Although the mountainous landscape is breathtaking, northeast India remains the least visited part of India. North-East India has a land mass of 220,000 km2, following the eastern Himalayas, across Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Myanmar, and India's states of Sikkim, Northern West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Southern Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Mizoram.
Infrastructure projects in North-East India
The Infrastructure projects in North-East India was ignored for almost many decades by the congress government. Despite having such beautiful landscapes , it didn't got any much recognition and because of its poor infrastructure it remained a major problem for tourists as lack of connectivity was a serious issue in the region. The infrastructure connectivity was so poor that even many state capitals didn't had any railway station which was a very shameful thing but soon after Narendra modi of BJP was elected as Prime minister of India in 2014, he immediately started the look-east policy where major infrastructure projects where announced. He primarily focused on the infrastructure of the region as well as to connect it to the south-Asian nations by major highways so as to boost the development projects. Here are some of the major infrastructure projects of the North-East India
1. Bogibeel bridge - It is a bridge that is made on the mighty Brahmaputra river. Its one of the longest rail cum road bridge in India. It is also one the the strongest bridge in India which is made up of strongest steel concrete material which can withstand the earthquake of up to 7 Richter scale. It connects the Dhemaji district and Dibrugarh district of Assam, India
2. Bairabi-Sarang Railway - It comprises of a 56 km long railway route which runs over the mountains having 57 major and 87 minor Road Over Bridges with 6 Road Under Bridge's, several tunnels with the longest one having 12639 meters of length to connect the capital of Mizoram state to the rest of the Indian Railways. The project costs ₹5,521 crores and is being fast tracked by the Modi government and is being expected to be completed by march 2023.
3. Dimapur-Kohima Railway Project - This projects length is 82 km which will connect Capital of Nagaland Kohima to Dimapur connecting it to the major network of the Indian Railway. This project will be completed by march 2023.
4. Sivok-Rangpo Railway Project - This project will connect Capital of Sikkim , Gangtok to Rangpo. The project's length is 44 km which comprises of 14 tunnels,5 stations and 13 Bridges and will be completed by 2022. The completion of this project will make the travelling time reduced from west Bengal to Sikkim to just 2 hours.
3. Jiribham-Imphal Railway Project - This project has a length of 111km and will connect the capital of Manipur, Imphal to Jiribham. This project has 149 Bridges and 52 tunnels and almost it runs over the hilly terrain and rivers. One of the Major highlights of this project is that it has one of the tallest pier of any railway bridge in the world comprising the length of 142 meters.
4.Guwahati Metro- This project involves making of the first metro networks in the largest city of North-East India, Guwahati and is under the planning phase.
5. Airports - There are various new terminal buildings which are under construction in various airports such as Guwahati and Agartala airports.
6. Brahmaputra 4 lane Expressway - This is one of the first major expressway's of North-East India which will connect Assam to Arunachal Pradesh.
7. Arunachal Frontier Highway - It is a planned border highway of Arunachal Pradesh. The 2,000-kilometre-long (1,200 mi) road follows the McMahon Line, the international border between India and China. The Government of India estimates the cost at ₹40,000 crore (equivalent to ₹540 billion or US$7.1 billion in 2020) which will be constructed in a fast pace.
8. Kaladana Multi Model Project - In this project the port of Kolkata will be connected to Sittwe port of Myanmar and then it will be connected to the Mizoram state of India by road for easy transport of goods to North-East India. This project will be completed by the end of 2022.
9. Kohima - Imphal 4 Lane Expressway Project - It is a 4 lane expressway which has a length of 308 km and will connect Kohima to capital of Manipur, Imphal.
10. Assam Multi Model Logistic Park - India's first multi modal logistic park is being made in Assam, which will be completed by 2023.
What Are Some Amazing Facts About North East India
Each state has its unique history and culture, and to the traveler, North-East India is the storehouse for a rarely experienced one. There is no denying that the North-East Region -- comprising Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and Assam is one of the finest places on the planet, and deserves just as much attention as any other part of India.
The seven north-eastern states are connected to mainland India through a narrow strip of land commonly known as Chickens Neck.
After Indian independence from British rule in 1947, the Northeastern regions of British India consisted of colonial Assam and the princely states of Manipur and Tripura. Manipur and Tripura continued to be union territories of India from 1956 to 1972, at which point they attained full-fledged statehood. Before joining India as its 22nd state, the eighth(Sikkim) was a tiny Himalayan monarchy.
Manipur, the least known Northeastern Indian state, is the location of the only floating lake in the world, Lake Loktak. The last village along the Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh is Kaho, India, located north of Kibithu, on the banks of Lohit river.
With an incredible low and incredible population density, with a combined total population equal to the population of Orissa, north-east India is one of the least populous regions of all of the country.
There are around 220 languages spoken across 7 North-Eastern states in India. Besides, the north-eastern regions of India are all over the world, full of wonders, both natural and man-made, that surprise even the majority of people of the country. Despite being such a rich part of India, culturally, historically, biologically, naturally, and language-wise, it is unfortunate that there is such a small knowledge of, particularly, Northeast India.
My conclusion :-
I think these projects will surely boost the development in the region. The share in the GDP of North-East India will gradually increase after the enforcement of these projects and soon in the next decade North-East India will be one of the fastest growing regions in India.
