From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: It was a small gesture from a big-hearted teen-aged girl whose heart cries for the flood-hit people of Assam. Especially those from the ravaged Majuli river island located in the mighty Brahmaputra River. But it goes a long way in conveying a humane message to the fellow people.
Fifteen-year-old Smriti Saikia, a Class IX standard student in the Central School at Missamari Army base campus in Nagaon district of Assam, was so moved by the plight of flood-affected people in Assam, that she donated Rs 11,000 which was meant for her birthday celebration, to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund so that the money comes in handy in providing relief to the thousands who were victims of the flood in Majuli river island, the largest inhabited river island on the globe.
Assam is a state where the agrarian economy has been devastated by perennial problem of flood and erosion. This year the state was deluged by tree waves of flood between June to September, leaving a trail of destruction in paddy fields and villages. A large number of people have been rendered homeless and have taken shelter on roads and river embankments.
“The new in TV channels beaming the hard days faced by flood victims has cause immense pain to my little daughter who asked us to give away the money meant for celebration of her birth day to provide succour to the needy people. It was only an amount of Rs 11,000,but all have been touched by her gesture. The money was given to Assam Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The Chief Minister has sent a letter of appreciation to her,” said Dilip Saikia, father of Smriti.
Dilip Saikia is an entrepreneur and one of the small tea garden owners in the State. The family hails from Anjukpani under Koliabor sub-division of Nagaon district of Assam.