While a visit to Tawang is not on his itinerary, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Kibithu on the India-China border, one of the most remote Circle Headquarters in Anjaw district, during his one-and-a-half day visit to Arunachal Pradesh starting Thursday.Official sources said the Prime Minister, who will be accompanied by at least half-a-dozen members of his Council of Ministers, is set to announce a “massive package” for the state.Located seven kilometres from the Line of Control, Kibithu was the scene of a bloody battle during the 1962 Sino-Indian war and was a flourishing trade centre in the years before the war. Over the years, Kibithu has become one of the venues for Border Personnel Meetings (BPMs) between the armies of both countries. The PM is expected to address Indian Army troops in Kibithu on February 1 before going to the Indian Army’s 82 Mountain Brigade headquarters in Lohitpur.Scheduled to reach Itanagar by noon on January 31, the Prime Minister would first lay the foundation stones for two hydel power projects to come up at Pare in Lower Subansiri district and Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district. He would also lay the foundation stone for the setting up of a new railway line between Harmuti in Assam and Itanagar. This 33-km-long line, included in the 1996-97 Railway Budget, would be constructed at a cost of Rs 156 crore and would connect Arunachal’s capital by rail. In addition, the PM would lay stones for the new Civil Secretarial building at Itanagar and the Itanagar Water Supply scheme.Singh is also slated to inaugurate the second phase of Nahar Lagun-Nirjuli water supply scheme and the Congress Bhawan in addition to unveiling the statue of Indira Gandhi. He would then address a public meeting and probably make a visit to Ramakrishna Mission Hospital on the first day of his visit.Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval to provide subsidy to the Arunachal Pradesh Government for operating an exclusive MI 172 helicopter service between Guwahati and Tawang initially for a period of one year. Beyond one year, this subsidy would be based on review of operation of this service at the end of the first year of operation.The amount of subsidy—that is, actual cost of operation of helicopter service minus recovery from passengers—would be met on 75:25 basis between the Centre and state. The overall ceiling of flying hours for the proposed helicopter service would be 52 hours per month.
