GUWAHATI, March 29 � �A kalakshetra will be set up after Koch King Naranarayan at Bongaigaon. For the purpose the State government will provide a grant of Rs 5 crore,� said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi while inaugurating the Chilarai Bhawan, head-office of the Sadou Asom Koch-Rajbongshi Sanmilani at Borbari, VIP Road here today.
Speaking as the chief guest at the open session, Gogoi said the government had been working for the all-round progress and development of different ethnic communities and it had set up different development councils for the purpose. �We want each community to reap the fruits of development and for this we have set up development councils for different communities so that they march along the path of progress and prosperity,� he said, adding that Assam was the first state to have constituted development councils.
Gogoi announced that meritorious students from poor, marginalised and underprivileged segments of society would be housed in residential schools at government expense. He also announced that skill development centres would be set up for different communities, including the Koch-Rajbongshis.
The Chief Minister urged the development councils to focus on education, skill development and on women�s welfare-oriented schemes. �Focus on education, income generation through skill development and on women�s welfare schemes will lead us towards the path of progress and prosperity,� he added.
Gogoi said his government had been vigorously pursuing with the Central government the issue of granting Scheduled Tribe status to six ethnic communities of the State, including the Koch-Rajbongshis. �Our Government has been vigorously taking up the issue of granting Scheduled Tribe status to six ethnic communities, including the Koch-Rajbongshis. The Central government has neither accepted nor rejected the proposals sent by the expert committees constituted by the State government,� he added.
Addressing the gathering, president Sadou Asom Koch-Rajbongshi Sanmilani Dr Durlabh Chamua thanked the Chief Minister for his support and cooperation towards the construction of the new bhawan. The foundation stone of the bhawan built at a cost of Rs 1.40 crore, was laid by Chief Minister Gogoi on January 14, 2004.
Anjan Dutta, MLA also praised the Chief Minister for his development initiatives that had led to the creation of the Koch-Rajbongshi Development Council, a permanent office of the Koch-Rajbongshis in Guwahati, institution of the Bir Chilarai Award and a film on Bir Chilarai, said an official release.
