Children tell MLAs their tales of woes

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Oct 17: Children of various schools of the State interacted with two legislators and discussed various problems afflicting them.

The event, Interface of Children with Members of Legislative Assembly organized by Save the Children during the Anwesha Book Festival at AEI ground at Chandmari in Guwahati on October 14, evoked huge response from the children. A total of 20 school children from tea garden areas in Dhekiajuli and Gohpur, besides Guwahati city shared the dais with two legislators— Sidhartha Bhattacharyya of East Guwahati and Debabrata Saikia of zira.

Mr Deba Prasad Sarma, Project Officer, Save the Children, Assam, explained the objective of the programme that started at 4 pm. Children from Dhekiajuli Tea Estate, Tingkharia Tea Estate, Dhekiajuli, Gohpur Tea Estate and Guwahati Refinery High School, interacted with the two legislators. Both Mr Bhattacharya and Mr Saikia shared their views with the children on a variety of issues ranging from the history of Assam Legislative Assembly to Sanitation, to Right to Education of children.

Jaypapal Lohra, a child from Tingkharia Tea Estate, Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district, while interacting with the two legislators, rrated about the poor condition of education in their Tea Estate. He talked about the lack of basic amenities in their school.

“There are lots of problems in our school. There are only two classrooms in our school. There is no toilet facility,” he said.

Jaypal also said about the lack of upper primary and high school in the tea estate area.

“There is no upper primary and high schools in our Tea Estate area. We have to go a long way on foot to read in high schools. The condition of the road is also not good. We have to cross a river as there is no bridge across it,” he said.

Speaking on Jaypal's comment, MLA Bhattacharya said that Prime Minister rendra Modi has accorded utmost priority on construction of toilets in schools.

“Modiji has stressed that every school must have a toilet. Many girl students dropped out of school after attaining puberty because of the lack of toilets in schools. We will take up the issue of toilet with department concerned and raise the issue of lack of school in the next Assembly session,” Bhattacharya said.  

He also assured the students that he will talk to the local MLA about the problems of school infrastructure.

Opposition leader and zira MLA Debabrata Saikia, while speaking on the issue, said that as Sarba Siksha has currently stopped funding local MLAs have to take steps for increasing classrooms.

Regarding construction of bridge, he said, “The local MLA will have to take steps in this regard. Bridges can be constructed from MLA’s Local Area Development (LAD) fund.”

Sakia also pointed out that the education department has some lapses on the issue.

The programme was also attended by Anwesha president Paresh Malakar and Mr Dileep Saikia, vice president of Nehru Yuba Kendra. The programme was compered by Moumita Saha of Save the Children.