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Condolence meet in memory of Anjan Dutta

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 17 - The State Transport Workers� Association (STWA) will organise a condolence meet tomorrow in the memory of former Transport Minister Anjan Dutta, who was also the man behind the revival of the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC).

The condolence meet will be attended by employees of the ASTC from across the State.

The general council meeting will also be held tomorrow in Guwahati.

Expressing grief at the demise of Dutta, Dwijen Lahkar, general secretary, STWA, said, �The news of his passing away came as a shock for the entire ASTC family. We still remember the phase between 1998 and 2000 when the strength of our buses came from 1500 to just 81. Seven of our ASTC employees committed suicide out of extreme poverty. Our wards were being disqualified from their schools and we were not given our salaries for 14 months and the employees were forced to work as daily wage labourers.�

�Before Dutta took over the reign, the ASTC was in a state of shut down. It was the dynamic leadership of the former Minister that changed the tide of fortune in our favour.�

Khargeswar Das, joint secretary, All India Transport Federation, said, �Apart from being a dynamic Minister, Dutta was a man of amiable nature. He not only effected a turnaround of the ASTC but also left lasting influence in the lives of many people. I would never forget how he helped my son in getting admission into the Gauhati Commerce College in 2004. Today, my son is doing well.�

�It was Dutta who made ASTC a vibrant entity from a dismal state. By incorporating the public operating buses in the fold of the ASTC, he brought the languishing entity back in the track of revival,� said das, who is also the secretary of STWA.

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