Guwahati, Feb 4 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the Central government is giving a special emphasis on the development of the northeastern states.

Pointing out the record number of tourist footfall in the northeast in the last 10 years, PM Modi said that even though the beauty of the region has existed for long, the number of tourists remained extremely low due to the violence in the region, and lack of resources due to the neglect shown by previous governments.

He also spoke about the poor air, rail and road connectivity in the region earlier in the region due to which traveling from one place to another took hours.

Meanwhile, PM Modi credited the double-engine government at the Centre and state for all-around development in Assam.

The Prime Minister said that the government has increased the expenditure on the region's development 4 times.

Drawing comparisons to before and after 2014, he said that the length of railway tracks laid was increased by more than 1,900 km, the Railway budget was boosted by almost 400 per cent and 6,000 km of new national highways were constructed in the last 10 years compared to 10,000 km till 2014.

PM Modi also spoke about peace being established in certain areas of Assam which were once disturbed and hit by violence.

"More than 10 major peace agreements have been signed here," he said, adding that thousands of youths in the northeast have shunned the path of violence and opted for development in the last few years.

The Prime Minister further stated that out of these, more than 7,000 youth of Assam have also given up arms and have pledged to stand shoulder to shoulder in the development of the country. Highlighting the removal of AFSPA in many districts, he said that the areas which have been affected by violence are being developed today as per the aspirations of the people with the government's support.

PM Modi also emphasised the importance of establishing targets and asserted that previous governments lacked objectives and failed to work hard.

"Numerous roads in the state are set to be upgraded under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation, transforming the northeast into a trade hub," PM Modi said.

/IANS