Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday emphatically urged people of the country to visit the Northeast.

“I emphasise that you must visit the Northeast in your lifetime. What a glorious abundance of nature exists there! You will be left wonderstruck!” he said during his the third episode of “Mann Ki Baat”.

On August 15, Modi had urged all from the ramparts of Red Fort to visit at least 15 places in the country within next three years. On Sunday, he specifically mentioned the “Northeast” talking about its natural beauty.

Modi made the suggestion to visit the Northeast when he was talking about the recent Man vs Wild episode on Discovery Channel where he had managed to communicate with Bear Grylls in Hindi with the help of technology.

Grylls, is a British survival instructor and honorary lieutenant-colonel. Outside his career in the army, he is an adventurer, writer, TV presenter and businessman.

Modi said after that episode a large number of people had been discussing about the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, adding people must visit sites associated with nature and wildlife.

While Modi talked about visiting 15 destinations, Union minister Kiren Rijiju was prompt to respond, tweeting “incredible Northeast was waiting” with a short video of a scenic beauty of his home state Arunachal Pradesh.

On Sunday, chairperson of the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) Jayanta Malla Baruah was elated at the Prime Minister’s urge to people to visit the Northeast. “He is like a major brand ambassador for us,” Baruah said, hoping that a call from Modi, with a huge number of fans and followers, would definitely encourage people to visit Assam and other states of the Northeast.

“When he (Modi) talked about 15 destinations during his Independence Day speech, he specially mentioned about the Northeast. He was praising the virgin beauty of the Northeast,” Baruah said. He added the Centre had included the Kaziranga National Park as one of the 17 iconic tourist destinations of the country to promote tourism.

In a bid to reach out to the common man, the office of the district information and public relations officer (DIPRO), Hailakandi, broadcast “Maan Ki Baat” through fixed loudspeaker system on Sunday at 11am.

People listened to the broadcast, braving scorching heat. The office of DIPRO will install loudspeakers at some important public places under the Hailakandi municipal areas soon.

DIPRO’s Sabir Nishat said, “The main aim is to disseminate as much information as possible to keep the people updated on various issues concerning them.”

• Additional reporting by Satananda Bhattacharjee in Hailakandi