In what may be called a move to win over the Northeast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday not only tried his hand on a drum with folk artists but also interacted with folk dancers at Mawphlang village in East Kahsi Hills district of Meghalaya.
Mawphlang, a village about 25 km from Shillong, is famous for having an amazing lifeform of plants, flowering trees, orchids and butterflies -an ideal destination for nature lovers.
The PM was here to attend the plenary meeting of Northeast council also took out time to visit Elephant Falls, a tourist destination in Shillong, besides spending time with the locals at Mawphlang village.
In what was an experience of a life time for the villagers, who got an opportunity to interact with the Prime Minister of India, this visit may go a long way in breaking the jinx about saffron leaders in the Christian-dominated frontier state of Meghalaya.
Mr Modi also interacted at length with the members of various self-help groups, where he laid focus on the rural livelihood in north-eastern states.
During his maiden visit, the PM met a few intellectuals and senior journalists to take a stock of the state-of-affairs here. Earlier on Friday, the PM inaugurated passenger trains for Manipur and Mizoram, that have improved railway connectivity in the land-locked Northeastern staes. He also laid the foundation stone for a football stadium at ‘Ampati’.
Meghalaya governor V. Shanmuganathan, chief minister Dr Mukul Sangma, and Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal also accompanied the PM.
