CORRESPONDENTS
UDALGURI/JAMUGURIHAT: A high-level delegation of Asom Nepali Sahitya Sabha (ANSS) called on Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati on Friday and urged to resolve the problems and issues of the Gorkha community of Assam.
The delegation comprised of Durga Khatiwara, the president, Dr. Chintamoni Sarma and Bhawani Prasad Sarma, vice-presidents, Rudra Baral, the general secretary, Dr. Khagen Sarma, the education secretary, among others. The delegation thanked the Assam Government for recommending writer Lil Bahadur Chetry for the Padma Shri, for granting Rs 1 crore for the construction of ANSS office in Guwahati and creating a permanent fund of Rs 3 crore for ANSS.
The ANSS leaders requested the State Government to include the Gorkha community as indigenous community of the State. The Gorkhas in Assam were considered as protected class in the tribal belts and blocks since Independence and the term 'Nepali Grazers and Cultivators' should be replaced as Gorkha, the delegation said.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal assured the delegation that a high-level committee had been formed under the chairmanship of minister Chandra Mohan Patowary and the apprehensions of the Gorkhas and others would be addressed. He said that the Gorkha community people had a great role in the formation of the Assamese society. The delegation also discussed the matter of ST status for the Limbu and Tamang caste of Gorkhas as in West Bengal and Sikkim. Educational and socio-economic issues were also discussed. The ANSS also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister regarding these issues.
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