The Prime Minister Shri, Narendra Modi addressed a public function immediately after his arrival at the Agatti Airport in Lakshadweep. The Prime Minister’s night halt will be in Lakshadweep. 

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister noted the immense possibilities that Lakshadweep offers and pointed out the long neglect that Lakshadweep faced after Independence. He mentioned weak port infrastructure despite shipping being the lifeline of the area. This applies to education, health and even petrol and diesel, he said. He said now the government has taken up the task of its development in the right earnest. “All these challenges are being removed by our government”, he said. 

Prime Minister Modi informed that many development projects were completed in Agatti during the last 10 years and mentioned creating modern facilities, especially for the fishermen. He also touched upon the fact that now Agatti has an airport as well as an ice plant. Due to this, the Prime Minister said, new possibilities are being created for the sector related to seafood export and seafood processing. He mentioned the initiation of export of tuna fish from Lakshadweep which has also paved the way for increasing the income of the fishermen of Lakshadweep. 

Referring to the development projects of today, the Prime Minister mentioned the inauguration of a solar plant and aviation fuel depot to meet the electricity and other energy needs of Lakhswadeep. The Prime Minister informed about the saturation of tapped water connections to all houses in Agatti Island and reiterated the government’s efforts to ensure houses, toilets, electricity and cooking gas for the poor. “The Government of India is working with full commitment for the development of the entire Lakshadweep including Agatti”, Shri Modi said as he concluded his speech by mentioning tomorrow’s event scheduled in Kavaratti for more development projects for the people of Lakshadweep. 

Background

In his visit to Lakshadweep, the Prime Minister will inaugurate, dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of development projects worth more than Rs 1150 crore.

In a transformative move, the Prime Minister had resolved to overcome the challenge of slow internet speed in Lakshadweep Island by initiating the Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fiber Connection (KLI - SOFC) project and announced the same in the Independence Day speech in August 2020 at Red Fort. The project has now been completed and will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister. This will lead to an increase in internet speed of more than 100 times (from 1.7 Gbps to 200 Gbps).  For the first time since independence, Lakshadweep will be connected through Submarine Optic Fibre Cable. The dedicated submarine OFC will ensure a paradigm shift in communication infrastructure in the Lakshadweep islands, enabling faster and more reliable internet services, telemedicine, e-governance, educational initiatives, digital banking, digital currency usage, digital literacy etc.

The Prime Minister will dedicate to the Nation the Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) plant at Kadmat. This will produce 1.5 lakh litres of clean drinking water every day. The Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) in all households of Agatti and Minicoy islands. The availability of potable water was always a challenge in the islands of Lakshadweep as being a coral island, it has very limited ground water availability. These drinking projects will also help in strengthening the tourism capacity of the islands, leading to increased local employment opportunities.

Other projects which are dedicated to Nation include the solar power plant at Kavaratti, which is the first-ever battery-backed solar power project of Lakshadweep. It will help to reduce dependency on Diesel-based Power Generation plant, and the new administrative block and 80 Men barrack in the India Reserve Battalion (IRBn) Complex at Kavaratti.

The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the renovation of the Primary Health Care facility in Kalpeni and the construction of five model Anganwadi Centres (Nand Ghars) in the five islands of Androth, Chetlat, Kadmat, Agatti and Minicoy.

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