OUR CORRESPONDENT
TEZPUR: Minister for Guwahati Development, Urban Development, Ashok Singhal distributed cheques of Rs. 25,000 each to 205 businessmen affected in the recent Tezpur Chowk Bazaar fire, at a function held at the District Library auditorium in Tezpur on Sunday.
A fund of Rs 51.25 lakh was released by Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund recently as a one-time grant for the fire-affected families.
MP, Tezpur HPC, Pallab Lochan Das, MLA of Tezpur, Prithiraj Rabha, Deputy Commissioner of Sonitpur, Bhupesh Chandra Das, Superintendent of Police Dr Dhananjay Ghanawat, eminent social workers Tulshi Borthakur, Pushpa Deka and others were present in today's meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, minister Singhal informed that as part of a special initiative taken up by Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, a permanent building for Chowk Bazaar was being planned so that the shopkeepers affected by the fire could be rehabilitated. He also informed that a meeting in this regard had been scheduled with the district administration officials and engineers and that a plan and estimate for the same would be prepared within the next 15-20 days. He also announced that as soon as the COVID-19 scenario improved, construction work would be started on a war footing and work would be completed as early as possible so that the businessmen could be rehabilitated at the earliest.
Addressing the gathering MP, Pallab Lochan Das thanked the Chief Minister for taking such proactive steps for providing relief to the affected businessmen and said the government was working to ensure early rehabilitation of the fire-affected victims. Deputy Commissioner Bhupesh Chandra Das also thanked the Chief Minister for providing early relief to the shopkeepers and assured full cooperation and help in helping rebuild their businesses.
Altogether 10 cheques were distributed among shopkeepers belonging to Chowk Bazaar Byabasayi Santha and Chowk Bazaar Khudra Byabasayi Santha in today's programme. The rest will be distributed in a phase-wise manner by TMB authorities.