Hurricane visit of Himanta Biswa Sarma silences opposition on home turf

SILCHAR: Only a wily, prudent and Michavellian politician Himanta Biswa Sarma, Minister of Education and Health, during his 3-day hurricane visit of the three districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi can take on the opposition and outplay them on their home turfs. It was like killing two birds with one stone, silence the vociferous voice of Congress and AIUDF as well as a surfeit of dissenting social groups who tried to corner BJP on the twin issues of deficient health infrastructures of SMCH and the proposed Medical College at Karimganj. For the last few days, the local and state media played into the hands of distracters of the saffron party, giving the impression BJP leaders of Barak have no answer.

Reaching first at Hailakandi, BJP think tank showed he had many salvos to fire at the critics. Quite tactfully, he went beyond the confines of the twin issues to hammer on development agenda. Hailakandi's British era circuit house will become thing of past and a new look modern circuit house take its place. He directed the PWD (Building) to ready DPR for approval and implementation. Four roads in interior Katlicherra bordering Mizoram is to get 4 roads for which Rs 647 lakh has been allotted. The biggest auditorium in the valley with 1000 seat capacity at Ramkrishna Nagar as promised by the Minister during the by election of Ratabari at an estimated cost of Rs 9 crore will be the pride for the people of the remotely located place.

On the boiling issue of proposed Medical College at Karimganj, Himanta Biswa Sarma pushed the ball in the court of Kripanath Mallah MP, Bijoy Malakar MLA and Krishnendu Paul MLA to come to an understanding over the selection of plot of land to lay the foundation stone of the Medical College within 10 days. "Inform me, I would come here," said the Minister amidst roaring clapping of the audiences at a public meeting at Patharkandi. He promises not to hoodwink the people but to make it happen on the ground. And that makes him the most acceptable and popular face in the valley.

Here was yet another instance when Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the promised 40-bed ICU at SMCH on the concluding day of his visit on September 27. The 53-year-old premier medical college will undergo lot of improvement in respect of increase in ICU beds, new building to add to the accommodation capacity of the medical college, besides massive improvement in its infrastructure facilities, filling up the vacant posts of doctors and nurses as well as creation of long sought after departments of neurology, nephrology and trauma centre. His face brimming with confidence and reflections of optimism gave clear signal BJP led alliance would come back to power with comfortable majority.

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