Academic centre for TE students likely: Gogoi

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 9: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi assured the Assam Tea Tribe Students’ Association (ATTSA) of setting up a state-level academic centre in Guwahati to impart coaching to the students of tea community so as to make them compete in competitive examitions.

An ATTSA delegation led by its president Prahlad Gowala met the Chief Minister at his official residence in the city on Friday night. In course of the hour-long discussion, Chief Minister Gogoi assured the delegation that a state-level academic centre would be set up in Guwahati to impart coaching to the students of tea community. Gogoi said the Government is mulling the idea to set up study centres in subdivisions as well as district headquarters.

The Chief Minister said his government would take steps to improve further the health facilities in the tea gardens. He assured the delegation that steps would be initiated to install individual electric metres in every household of tea workers.

Gogoi told the delegation that the Government would initiate steps to arrange posting of more language teachers in the tea gardens so that the tea students’ community are benefitted. He said the Government is taking stringent punitive action against those tea garden magements failing to implement the Plantation Labour Act. “Deputy Commissioners have been directed to monitor the implementation of the Plantation Labour Act and to take stringent punitive action against those magements failing to comply with the provisions of the Act,” he said.

Gogoi further assured the delegation that the Government would look into other charter of demands of ATTASA that included, among others, creation of a special package for revival of 15 gardens under Assam Tea Corporation (ATC), setting up a hospital in the tea gardens falling under ATC, ration for tea workers in ATC gardens, enhancement of wages and a special package for students of the tea garden community.

The meeting was attended by Additiol Chief Secretary VB Pyarelal, Additiol Chief Secretary SL Mewara and Principal Secretary PK Borthakur and others.