FM Nirmala Sitharaman arrives on two-day visit, reviews meeting with state govt

Agartala: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Agartala on Friday on a two-day visit to inaugurate several projects and hold meetings with the state government.

This is Sitharaman’s first visit to Tripura since the BJP-IPFT government came to power in March 2018. This also comes at a time amidst growing dissidence in the ruling BJP party.

Sitharaman was welcomed at the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) airport by the deputy chief minister Jishnu Dev Varma and BJP state president Dr Manik Saha. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb greeted her at the state guest house with the traditional Risa. Later, she also held a review meeting with the state government.

The review meeting was attended by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, deputy chief minister Jishnu Debbarma, chief secretary Kumar Alok and other top officials of the Tripura administration.

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In a tweet today, the Union Finance Minister said JICA-funded Sustainable Catchment Forest Management, ADB-funded Tripura Urban and Tourism Development Project, World Bank-funded North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project and many more state partners. These collaborative projects are being used in the overall development of the state to support education, health, communication, infrastructure, electricity and livelihoods.

“I have come to Tripura today to review the progress of the collaborative projects,” she said. The Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and other concerned officials were present at the review meeting.

Earlier, her visit was scheduled on August 18 to attend the Maharaja Bir Bikram Jayanti but, was postponed following an urgent cabinet meeting in Delhi over the Afghanistan crisis.