Grab chance to get world class varsity in State: Bora to CM

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Sept 3: Does Dispur at all want to see the State excel in education, to be one of the best in the world? Such an opportunity did come to Dispur from the Centre in 2009. However, the offer had to meet a flat turndown from the Congress government ar Dispur in 2009. It is now Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s turn to put Assam in the intertiol map of education.

In 2009, Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry sought land in Assam for the setting up of a world class university. The Union ministry did seek 700 acre land from the Assam Government, but the response from the State government was slack. The then DoNER Secretary had asked the then resident commissioner at Assam Bhavan, New Delhi to get the reply latest by September 2009. The reply was never sent, let alone making the land available.

Now Dispur MLA Atul Bora has taken up the matter with Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal for the setting up of a world class university in Assam. The MLA wants to make land available for the university at Khetri in the Dimoria area in his constituency.

In a letter sent to the Chief Minister today (separate letters were also sent to State Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Union HRD Minister) Bora drew the attention of Sonowal that the matter of setting up a world class university in Assam has been pending for the past few years as the State Government could not provide a site of 700 acres for it. “...Assam will be in the intertiol map of higher education, and the people will have immense benefits from the world class university. All other higher education institutes in Assam and the student community will derive benefits from the university,” Bora said in his letter to Sonowal and others.

Bora further said that 700 acre land required for the world class university is available in his constituency at Khetri (Dimoria). “The site at lgedra, which was earlier considered as one of the possible sites for the setting up of the AIIMS in Assam, will be very much suitable for the world class university. It may also be pointed out that the site is very close to Guwahati and can be reached via the four-lane tiol highway,” he said.

Talking to newsmen here today, Bora said: “The matter of site selection and the required area of land have been pending since 2009. It’s time that Dispur takes the fil decision in favour of establishing the university at Khetri in Dispur constituency.”

Bora further said that the university, if set up, would create around 5,000 jobs directly, besides creating as many job opportunities indirectly in the State. This is apart from the educatiol development in the State and the region as well, he added.