 "Narendra Modi asks people to post photos of #MagnificentNortheast on social media, netizens deliver")
It is not unusual to see a flurry of hashtags each time Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits a specific region in India, but this one was slightly different. [caption id=“attachment_6058111” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Itanagar on Saturday. PTI[/caption] Early on Friday, Modi’s official Twitter account asked users to post photographs from their visits to the North East using the hashtag #MagnificentNortheast. “The beauty of the Northeast is spectacular. Do you have pictures of your own Northeast visits or glimpses of the spectacular natural beauty of the region? Share them on Instagram using
~#~MagnificentNortheast
. I will share some of the posts on my page too!”
he tweeted
. The tweet was timed to precede Modi’s visits to the capitals of three northeastern states, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura on Saturday. By the time the prime minister had travelled to the region, social media had delivered a fantastic curation of the natural variety of the region. One of the first to respond was Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who pitched in with a video of his and Modi’s helicopter ride through a dense Arunachal forest. “This forest in Arunachal Pradesh is so dense that sunlight never reaches the ground. My mobile phone captured this video on the way to Koloriang from Ziro. Narendra Modi ji requests all to share pictures of their North-East visit on Instagram using ~#~MagnificentNortheast,” Rijiju
tweeted
. Soon, responses started pouring in as social media users noted how the mesmerising beauty of the North East had left a deep impression on them. From crystal clear lakes to unchartered snowy passes, the photographs captured the region in all its diversity.
The unique photographs made visible by the hashtag and the light it threw on one of the most ignored parts of the country drew the attention of Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio as well. “I thank Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi for keeping ~#~NorthEastIndia in the spotlight by coming up with the innovative idea of sharing photos of the ~#~NorthEast on ~#~Instagram using ~#~MagnificentNortheast. This will help boost tourism in the region, which is an untouched paradise,” Rio tweeted . Assam finance minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma also wrote in , appreciating Modi’s social media effort. “Honourable PM Narendra Modi, Your ideas & good words always inspire. The plenty of beauty of the ~#~NorthEast is truly mesmerising. I am soon sharing some of my own pictures of ~#~MagnificentNortheast on my Instagram handle ~ himantabiswasarma ~ and encourage others to do it as well,” Himanta said on Twitter. Early on Saturday, the prime minister’s official Instagram account gathered some of the photographs and uploaded them in the form of an Instagram Story. At Arunachal’s Itanagar , Modi inaugurated and laid foundation stones for projects in Arunachal Pradesh worth over Rs 4,000 crore and said his government was giving a lot of importance to improve connectivity in the sensitive border state. He then addressed a rally at Amingaon in Assam before proceeding to the Tripura capital of Agartala .