NH208A, which connects Tripura with the rest of India, got heavily damaged in the rains starting May this year. Because of the massive blockage on the highway, the supply of essential commodities including diesel, petrol, LPG and food grains had stopped, putting the landlocked state of Tripura in a very difficult situation. It was then that our prime minister stepped in. This is the story of how Narendra Modi intervened and got the highway repaired in just 6 days on war footing.

Reuters

In a Quora thread which is going viral, Pushpak Chkraborty narrates the incident which led to the repair of NH208A in Tripura in just 6 days. This is what he shared on Quora.

“An IAS officer who is well known to my father and is posted in North Tripura got a call at 10pm on 21st July. He was surprised to get a call so late in the night.

A young voice from the other side apologised for calling so late and asked if he is free for a few minutes because the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi wants to talk to him.

His brain froze for a few seconds and he could feel his legs shivering. He meekly whispered yes and after a few beeps, the call was transferred and none other than Mr Modi was on call. Modi apologised to him again for calling so late and said that he is just done with a meeting with Mr Nitin Gadkari and they needed his help to repair National Highway 208-A connecting Tripura to the rest of the country. He says he doesn't even remember how he responded to it. All he remembers is Modi telling him that the GOI has spoken to both the Assam and Tripura Government and all help would be provided to him to oversee the project.

He didn't sleep that night. Modi's voice kept echoing in his mind and he couldn't believe what had just happened. He tried connecting all dots and couldn't find any logic.

Next day, when he reached his office, he got communications from Tripura Government, Assam Government and GOI. He was sanctioned funds for the project to repair 15 kms of the highway. He immediately took his staff and went to visit the stretch. He found 6 JCBs standing there that were provided by Assam Government.

Over the next 4 days, more than 300 trucks with materials kept arriving and along with local workers and PWD officials from Assam and Tripura, he opened the highway for vehicles with necessities for Tripura.

Yesterday Mr Nitin Gadkari called him to thank him for his remarkable efforts and promised that NH-44 would be repaired on a war mode. He also asked him to visit PMO office whenever he is in Delhi.

That's my India with such remarkable stories of valour and I am proud of it. This story signifies how the Central Government is concerned about its people and there are numerous, I repeat, numerous such stories from across the country.”

Reuters

It’s fair to say that Narendra Modi is a good, efficient, hands-on administrator who knows how to get the work done and this incident will surely boost his popularity in the North-east, which has been neglected for years by governments in Delhi.

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