Government committed to safeguard ethnic cultural heritage of every community: Sarbananda Sonowal

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: "Assam is a State of unity in diversity. A number of tribes and communities live in the land following the noble ideology of integration. Each and every community has its own literature, culture, tradition with special characteristics. We must work sincerely and devotedly to keep the cultural traditions and heritage of the communities alive in order to hold the existence of the district. It is a great and heavy responsibility for a government," said Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Lakhimpur on Thursday. The Chief Minister was speaking at the Veerangana Sati Sadhani Award conferring programme organized in Dhakuakhana subdivision of the district. The ceremonial programme was organized at the public field of Dhakuakhana under the auspices of the Directorate of Culture in association with Lakhimpur district administration, Sadou Chutia Jati Sanmilan, Mahila Sanmilan, Yuva Sanmilan and All Assam Chutia Students' Union in a befitting manner.

Notably, prominent social activist of the State, Minati Borthakur has been selected for the Veerangana Sati Sadhani Award, 2020. Attending the event as chief guest, the Chief Minister conferred the award on the iconic social activist who has set an example to fight against cancer. The award consists of a citation along with an amount of Rs. 2,00,000.

Paying profound homage to Veerangana Sati Sadhani for the immortal courage, valour and sacrifice that she showed to save her motherland from extraneous aggression, the Chief Minister further stated that the BJP-led coalition government was committed to safeguard the cultural heritage of each and every community of the State.

"For this purpose, the government has endeavoured to disseminate the ideologies of the past prominent figures of the State. We are adapting various policies and creating an environment to ensure comprehensive development of all the communities of the State covering Brahmaputra and Barak valleys following the ideology of Chaolung Syu-Ka-Pha and inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikash, Sabka Vishwas principles. At present, there is no conflict among the communities of the State due to an ensured environment of development under the term of the present BJP-led government," he said.

The Chief Minister appealed to the parents and teachers to educate children with moral and spiritual education in order to shape their conduct and to grow human values. He suggested the students to create their personalities with the true values of education, sports and culture so that they could have a firm stand in the competitive world. He also suggested them to develop their attitude and ideology with scientific outlook in the 21st century world.

Sonowal declared that the State Government would allot a 50 bigha land in the Subansiri River valley to establish Lakshmi-Narayan Kshetra to conserve the cultural heritage of the Chutia community and the government had already granted an amount of Rs. 10,00,000 to construct a statue of Sati Sadhani in Dhakuakhana.

On the other hand, Minati Goswami said that she was overwhelmed with joy and encouraged on receiving the award. The award has inspired her to work for the people with more strength and conviction. Notably, Minati Borthakur is an example of courage and determination as she dared to fight a cunning and baffling disease like cancer, even when all doctors had given up hope, and she emerged victorious. In the process, she has set an example for others with her immense courage and faith in the higher power. Her fight did not end with her conquering the disease as she has been encouraging people to live life positively, besides providing support to cancer patients and depressed people. She had penned her experiences while fighting the disease in the form of a book three years back.

The ceremonial programme held in order to confer the award kicked off with the unfurling of flag by Chutia Jati Sanmilan president Amiya Kumar Borah. It was followed by smriti tarpan event and the traditional Deu Kuber Puja of the Chutia community. Head of the Sociology Department, Dibrugarh University, Dr. Jyoti Prashad Saikia delivered speech in the event as appointed speaker. Attending the programme as guests of honour, Agriculture Minister Atul Borah, Panchayat and Rural Development-cum-Cultural Affairs Minister Naba Kumar Doley, Sadou Chutia Jati Sanmilani president Amiya Kumar Borah and Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah also delivered speech. Director of Culture, Jadav Saikia delivered the welcome address while Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur extended the vote of thanks.

Prior to it, the Chief Minister inaugurated the newly-constructed main gate of the Basudev Than Naruwa Xatra, the noted Vaishnav Peeth of the north-eastern region. He also inaugurated the Borshamukh-Majuli connecting road while attending a public programme at Bebejia Chariali. Then he laid the foundation stone for the construction of Subdivisuonal Library with attached auditorium hall, construction of indoor hall, RCC Gallery-cum-dressing room and football ground and construction of classroom buildings in Harhi College in Dhakuakhana.

Also Read: Assam, Nagaland CMs extend Christmas greetings

Also Watch: Boost to intra-state bus travel: Biswanath gets new daily bus service to Guwahati