CM Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma Visits Site for Upcoming Kanaklata University in Gohpur, Emphasizes Educational Transformation and Tea Garden Worker Welfare

Gohpur: Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday visited the proposed site for the upcoming Kanaklata University adjacent to the Bholaguri Tea Estate in Sonitpur district.

Chief Minister Dr Sarma while talking on deciding the site of the proposed university in Gohpur with Education Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu and MLA Utpal Bora also held discussion with the  representatives of a number of tea tribe organizations with an aim to protect the interests of the tea garden workers while constructing the university.

The Chief Minister said that the proposed Kanaklata University has the potential to transform Gohpur into an educational hub in the days to come. The government will ensure that the interests of tea garden workers are not affected, the Chief Minister asserted. He said that the courses in the university will be designed keeping in mind the requirement of the job market in the backdrop of Industry 4.0, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

He further added that the entire premises of the upcoming Kanaklata University will be named “Jyoti Khsetra”. This would serve as tributes towards both freedom fighter Kanaklata Baruah and “Rupkonwar” Jyoti Prasad Agarwala. “It is to be noted that Jyoti Prasad Agarwala had shot Joymoti, the first Assamese movie, in 1935 at Bholaguri Tea Estate adjacent to which the Kanaklata University is being established. Education Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu, Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Minister Ashok Singhal, Member of Parliament Ranjit Dutta, Member of Legislative Assembly Utpal Bora and Promod Borthakur along with a host of functionaries were present.

In another programme, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma also unveiled a life-size statue of Babu Chabilal Upadhyay at the Anand Agarwal Park in Tezpur town. Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Minister referred to Upadhyay as one of the foremost personalities who fought against British imperialism from the forefront in the nation’s struggle for independence. He said Upadhyay had contributed immensely towards the socio-political developments of the State. The Chief Minister lauded Upadhyay for his role in the declaration of Assamese as the Official Language of the State after Independence. He remembered how Upadhyay appealed to the Gorkhas of the state to register Assamese as their mother tongue in the census so as to promote the cause of the Assamese language. He had also strongly opposed the conspiracy to club Assam with Bengal during  country’s partition, the Chief Minister added that Upadhyay stood firmly behind Gopinath Bordoloi in his opposition to the plan to separate Assam from India.

The Chief Minister said the government was committed to the welfare of the Gorkha population of the State. As part of this commitment, the requirement that a Gorkha applicant needed to submit documents proving three generations’ residence in Assam shall be waived off for allotment of land patta, the Chief Minister added. This event was attended by the Cabinet Ministers Dr. Ranoj Pegu and Ashok Singhal, MP Ranjit Dutta, MLAs Prithiraj Rava, Ganesh Limbu, along with a host of functionaries.

The Chief Minister today also inaugurated an old-age home named ‘Tapoban’ constructed with the funding from Diageo India under its Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme at Tezpur. Minister of Assam cabinet Ashok Singhal was also present at the event, stated a press release.

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