Prominent filmmaker Bhabani Prasad Borthakur passes away at 92

A CORRESPONDENT

GAURISAGAR: Bhabani Prasad Borthakur, a resident of Jhanji Jamuguri, prominent labour leader, documentary filmmaker, prominent writer, and recipient of artiste pension from the Government of Assam, passed away at Jorhat Medical College & Hospital on Saturday at 10.37 am due to an old-age-related ailment. He was 92. Borthakur had been undergoing treatment for a week.

Born in Nazira, Borthakur did his schooling at Jhanji High School. He passed the Matriculation Examination from Nazira Higher Secondary School and graduated from Edmund’s College, Shillong. He was appointed to the Sivasagar Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited in 1960 and retired as the Superintendent of the Department. An efficient administrator and strong labour leader, Borthakur formed a branch of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) while working at ONGC to address various grievances of oil development and production workers and provide job security to the workers. He was the founder Secretary of the union. He was also an executive member of the National Federation of Petroleum and Chemical Workers of India. 

After retirement, Bhabani Prasad Borthakur became involved in the cultural field and started making documentaries. He has produced and directed several documentaries and short stories including AIDS, Assam Satra Sampad, Seuji Pathere, and Navchetnare (short story). In 1993, Guwahati Doordarshan recognized Bhabani Prasad Borthakur as a director, producer, and script writer. A veteran cultural worker with a profound knowledge of English literature, Borthakur is survived by a son and a married daughter. His demise was widely mourned in Jhanji and its adjacent area.

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