SILCHAR, Sept 13 - In a major development, the Assam Industrial Development Corporation Limited (AIDCL) is taking steps to boost facilities for industrial growth in southern Assam, with a mega food park slated to come up at Sepenjuri in Patharkandi constituency of Karimganj district.
�We have been allotted 150 bighas of land for the food park. Along with the land in Patharkandi, we shall be soon getting land in North Karimganj as well,� AIDCL chairman and former BJP MLA Mission Ranjan Das told The Assam Tribune on Sunday.
Das said the AIDC will provide facilities for industrial set-up, covering electricity, water supply, road connectivity, etc., for those willing to open food-related ventures at the park. �I have spoken to the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and we are looking forward to a major breakthrough in terms of industrial proliferation in the region. We shall formally appeal to the Union Government for funds accordingly,� Das said.
Patharkandi MLA Krishnendu Paul said the food park will also have a cold chain. �The area is in the vicinity of tea gardens and the food park will provide scope for companies like Britannia, Bisk Farm, etc., to open local units and generate employment opportunities for youths of the region. This will add fillip to agriculture and socio-economic development as well,� Paul said.
Concern over �illegal� activities at Lailapur check gate: Drawing attention of the Cachar district administration towards the resurrected MV check gate at Lailapur on the Assam-Mizoram border, the All Barak Youth Students Association (ABYSA) has alleged that such gates are helping a syndicate carry out illegal activities.
In a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli, the association�s chief convener Baharul Islam Barbhuiya urged the administration to initiate measures to control the activities at the check gate. Copies of the memorandum were sent to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Minister of Fisheries, Forest and Environment Parimal Suklabaidya.
He said that since the opening of the check gate, ABYSA and other associations have vehemently protested the move. There were mass agitations against setting up of the check gate which, he said, was a blatant illegal way of extorting money from traders and transporters.
The BJP-led State government had taken a decision in its first Cabinet meeting in May 2016 to abolish all such inter-state check gates to curb illegal activities of syndicates, and accordingly, along with other check gates in the state, the check gate at Lailapur was also abolished.
�However, we were astonished to see that after four years since the Cabinet decision, the District Transport Authority resurrected the check gate at Lailapur by placing barricades,� Barbhuiya said.
