AGARTALA / NEW DELHI, May 30 (TIWN): Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government was working with determination to fulfil its promises to people and had been able to check leakages to the tune of Rs.36,000 crore as the NDA organised a gala event at India Gate here to mark it two years in office.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had instructed him to put special emphasis on infrastructural development in the northeast as the region remained deprived off the progress for years.

"In next five years we will build a road network, with investment of Rs.one lakh crore, in the northeast region of the country. This will enable fast and overall development of the entire region," Gadkari said from Nagpur while speaking at "Ek Nayee Subah" event to mark the Modi government's two years.

Development works estimated at Rs.40,000 crore have already started in the region, he added.

On development of waterways, Gadkari said that water transport is the cheapest way of travelling and with India having a 7500-km-long coastline which connects 78 districts of 13 states, the scope of water transport is immense.

"We are transforming the rivers -- which fall into the sea -- into waterways. We have also started working on strengthening our existing five waterways," he said.
Union ministers showcased their achievements and Bollywood's leading names, including Amitabh Bachchan, espoused social causes at the "Ek Nayi Subah" event which lasted over six hours. 

A government spokesperson stated a meeting of the secretaries of transport of India, Myanmar and Thailand was held in Bangkok on July 13 and 14 of 2015  for reaching a consensus on the signing and operationalization of the IMT MVA.

The AH-1 will start from Tokyo (connected by ferry) and run through Seoul, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom to Mae Sot, Yangon, Mandalay, Tamu, Moreh, Imphal, Kohima, Dimapur, Nagaon, Jorabat (Guwahati), Shillong, Dawki, Sylhet, Dhaka, Kolkata, Kanpur, New Delhi, Attari, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Kabul, Istanbul till the border of Bulgaria.

The northeastern part of the highway will be known as AH-2 if one is travelling from the Indonesian capital city of Denpasar to Jakarta, Singapore (connected by ferry), Bangkok, Mandalay, Tamu, Moreh, Imphal, Kohima, Dimapur, Nagaon, Jorabat (Guwahati), Shillong, Dawki, Sylhet, Dhaka, Siliguri, Kakarbhitta, Mahendranagar, New Delhi, Attari, Lahore, Quetta and Salafchegan (Tehran).

A range of initiatives including 'Swachh Bharat' campaign, the 'Beti Badhao, Beti Badhao', 'Pradhan Mantrai Ujjwala Yojana', 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' and 'Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana' were highlighted as well as moves to boost farmers' income, improve connectivity, step up investment and enhance jobs and improve rail, road and air infrastructure and provide electricity to all villages.