Bhupen’s house to be a memorial
Guwahati: The picturesque but flood and erosion ravaged river island of Majuli in Assam was upgraded to a district from a sub-division by Assam government on Monday to expedite the socio-economic development of the backward island.
It has happened just a month after the people of Majuli LAC elected BJP leader Sarbananda Sonowal to the state assembly – and who subsequently became chief minister of Assam.
Sonowal government also decided to develop the house of Late Bhupen Hazarika at Kuthari in Nagaon district as a unique and priced memorial to the cultural doyen. It also decided to renovate and preserve the house of freedom movement martyr Kushal Konwar in Golaghat district. Konwar incidentally was the only freedom fighter who had attained martyrdom by being sentenced to death.
The BJP-led government also announced appointment of 10,000 Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET)-qualified school teachers by March 2017.
It will also appoint 700 new doctors in government-run hospitals in the State.
The decision to upgrade Majuli from a sub-division within Jorhat district to a full-fledged district was taken in the first cabinet meeting of the new BJP-led government that had assumed office on May 24 last .
“The cabinet today decided to declare Majuli sub-division as a district,” PWD minister Parimal Suklabaidya, told media at the end of the three-hour first cabinet meeting of this government.
Majuli, whose landmass has shrunk from about 1250 square km in 1891 to about 515 square km now because of massive river-bank erosion caused by Brahmaputra River , has been vying for a place in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO. With 22 satras – vaishnavite monasteries – Majuli which is home to the colourful Mising tribals, has emerged as a major tourist destination despite seasonal floods and erosion.
Among other major decisions, the BJP-led government in its first cabinet also decided to extend one-time grant of Rs 3 lakh to the next of kin of over 45 journalists who were killed under various circumstances in the state in the past 30 years including killing by militants and mafias.
The Sonowal cabinet also approved Human Development Report 2014, according to which 77 per cent of the state’s population was not satisfied with the governance provided to them.
The new government would prepare a “100-day action plan” focusing on good governance and ensuring extensive public participation in governance, the minister added here.