Assam Govt Yet to Fulfill Promise of Welfare Officers for Assamese Diaspora Amid Rising Concerns

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Assam government has not yet met the promise it made in the 2019-20 annual budget to appoint a welfare officer each in all major cities of the country so as to mitigate the grievances of any member of the Assamese diaspora.

Lakhs of youth from the state work elsewhere in the country, mostly in the unorganized sector. Such youth face a whole range of problems, including sudden termination of jobs, harassment from employers, lack of medical attention, etc. The very purpose of the appointment of welfare officers is to mitigate the problems of such youth.

Of late, the Labour Commissioner has written a letter to the Secretary of the Labour Department to make all arrangements for the appointment of welfare officers in cities outside Assam, in the interest of the Assamese diaspora.

As of now, several youths working in other cities of the country have died. Saman Ali, a youth from Howli working in Mangalore, died in October this year. The family members of Saman Ali suspect it to be a murder case.

Making an announcement of the scheme ‘Aami Axomiya’ in the 2019-20 budget proposals, the then Finance Minister said, “A large number of Assamese diaspora being away from their homes have their own struggles. Job loss, health concerns, and emotional disconnect are some of the issues that they face. Currently, these people have no recourse to any facilitation in service centres to share their problems and seek remedial measures.”

The budget said, “We propose to appoint a welfare officer in each of the Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities that have a sizeable population of Assamese diaspora. These welfare officers will support the distressed during times of medical emergencies, provide assistance to young students to adjust to a new city, and temporary monetary assistance of immediate nature to those who have lost their jobs. We propose to set up the offices of the welfare officers in the cities along with adequate budgets. I am hopeful that we will be able to expand our Assamese connection through this.”

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