Deprived of e-bikes, meritorious girl students slam government

TINSUKIA/GOLAGHAT: The meritorious girl students of the 2019 Higher Secondary (HS) batch who were deprived of e-bikes vent their ire against State Finance Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma for his failure to keep his commitment which he announced during Budget 2019 and demanded a thorough inquiry by the Chief Minister.

In a press meet at Tinsukia Press Club on Friday, a group of girl students termed the BJP-led Sonowal government as 'treacherous' after 19,000 girl students from across the State, including 300 from Tinsukia district, who secured first division in the HS examination, 2019 were deprived of battery operated e-bikes under Gyan Deepika Scheme even as the government has launched the Pragyan Bharati Scooty Scheme 2020 to benefit students of the 2020 batch.

The students alleged that though Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma as Finance Minister announced the scheme during the Budget 2019, he now declined to accept the responsibility as it was during the tenure of Siddharta Bhattacharyya, the then State Education Minister. They also alleged that the budgetary allocation against the Gyan Deepika scheme was diverted to procure bicycles for the students of Classes VIII, IX and X. Such a deceiving act on the part of the government led to mistrust, opined the students.

On the other hand, a group of girl students of the 2019 Higher Secondary (HS) batch who were deprived of e-bikes, visited the Golaghat Deputy Commissioner on Friday. They submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma through the Deputy Commissioner, urging the government not to deprive them of the e-bikes.

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