Assam Movement activists extend support to Project Gorukhuti

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MANGALDAI: All the activists of Darrang district who played key role in the historic Assam Movement launched by the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) from 1979 to 1985, decided to extend unanimous support to the dream project 'Project Gorukhuti' adopted at the personal initiative of Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma as it will be an eye-opener for the educated unemployed youths of the State to take up agriculture as their source of livelihood. They also expressed their pleasure as both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators and their colleagues, namely Padma Hazarika of Sootea and Dr. Paramananda Rajbongshi of Sipajhar, have been entrusted with the responsibility of making this project as one of the successful agricultural projects of the State.

Recently, immediately after his maiden aerial visit to Dhalpur under Sipajhar LAC in Darrang district, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma had announced to take up 'Project Gorukhuti' to cultivate the encroached lands in Gorukhuti area and for the purpose, the State cabinet also formed a committee taking legislator Padma Hazarika as the chairman (with cabinet rank) and Parliamentarian Dilip Saikia, legislators Dr. Paramananda Rajbongshi and Mrinal Saikia as the members.

On Thursday afternoon, a total of 120 former activists of the Assam Movement from different corners of Darrang and Udalguri districts assembled in a meeting at the conference hall of Sanatan Dharma Sabha complex at Mangaldai. The reunion of the colleagues of the Assam Movement after quite a long gap was arranged at the initiative of former AASU leaders, namely Bhargab Kumar Das, Dalim Bayan, Hiren Kumar Saharia and Naba Kumar Deka.

Addressing his former colleagues, Sootea legislator Padma Hazarika in his speech dwelt at length on the significance and importance of taking up 'Project Gorukhuti' with the involvement of indigenous youths in multi-layer cropping, including dairy farms, goat farms, fishery adopting the scientific and organic way of cultivation. "During the historic Assam Movement, it was our dream to make our State self-sufficient in all aspects and to involve our youth force in agriculture. But during the regime of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) government two times, such projects were never taken up. Of late, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma has taken up this novel project initially as a pilot project which will cover every district of the State in due course. The land belonging to the indigenous people has been encroached upon on a large-scale with a well-designed conspiracy by a group of well-organized encroachers who have always been posing as a threat to the identity and existence of the indigenous people. It is high time that our youth should come forward to join this project and to make it a total success." However, he made it clear that to get involved with such projects it is not required to join the BJP. He also highly appreciated the zeal and spirit of three village girls of Gorukhuti area who have been undergoing tractor driving at the Industrial and Farm Machinery Training Centre at Biswanath Chariali.

Former general secretary of All Darrang District Students' Union (with the areas of present Darrang, Udalguri, Sonitpur and Biswanath district) during the Assam Movement and present legislator, Dr. Paramananda Rajbongshi also interacted with his colleagues and appealed to them to extend all possible help and cooperation. In the meeting anchored by Bhargab Kumar Das, all the former activists of Assam Movement decided to extend their support towards 'Project Gorukhuti' and to work for the total success of the project.

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