STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Assam Education Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu on Thursday flagged off vehicles carrying free textbooks for students affected by the recent floods in Charaideo, Sivasagar and parts of Jorhat districts. The vehicles were flagged off from the warehouse of the Assam State Textbook Production and Publication Corporation Ltd. (ASTPPC) at Bonda in Guwahati.
The initiative was undertaken following the directions of Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma to ensure that flood-affected students do not suffer academic setbacks due to the loss of textbooks.
Acting swiftly, the ASTPPC expedited the printing of the textbooks in a remarkably short time to facilitate their timely distribution. In the first phase, it dispatched a total of 1,41,719 textbooks for 1,12,843 students against the overall requirement of 8,98,231 textbooks for flood-affected learners.
Speaking to the media, Pegu said the first consignment met around 15 per cent of the total requirement and assured that the remaining textbooks would be dispatched in phases.
He said, “More than 1.5 lakh students study in the three districts, of whom around 1.12 lakh have been affected by the floods. Nearly 8.98 lakh textbooks are required in total. Today, we flagged off the first phase, comprising over 1.41 lakh textbooks in seven trucks. The remaining books will be sent as soon as possible.”
Pegu urged the district administrations to ensure that the consignments are received safely, stored properly and distributed without delay.
The minister said printing orders had already been placed for textbooks requiring fresh printing, and those volumes would be dispatched immediately after production. He added that the ASTPPC had accelerated the printing process to ensure that students receive the remaining textbooks at the earliest.
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