JORHAT, Oct 1 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urged the parents and guardians to keep a close watch on the activities of their wards regarding handling of social media platforms.
Sonowal said so at a function organised to lay the foundation stones of two projects here on Sunday.
The projects are a three-lane Railway overbridge (854.68 metres length) at Na-ali here, which was a long-standing demand of local people and organisations in order to reduce traffic congestion. The other foundation stone was in regard to an exclusive women�s market complex along with a car parking facility at the erstwhile Statfed godown beside the Magistrates� Colony here.
The overbridge will be constructed with funds amounting to Rs 67.76 crore from the Centre�s North-East Development Scheme and the rest Rs 45 crore, out of which Rs 25 crore will be required to be paid as compensation to people for acquiring their land, and will be borne by the State Government.
Financial resources for the market complex will be from the State Government�s City Infra Development Fund.
Sonowal said that it has been observed that social media platforms have become very popular among the young generation in recent times.
As there was a positive side of using social media, similarly there was a negative side too of the medium of information technology, he said. Misusing social media could lead to severe consequences, he forewarned.
He asked the parents to keep an eye on their children and advise them not to be misled and never misuse the social media as any mischievous action could lead to initiation of legal action.
Sonowal said that the Government has firmly dealt with those found to be trying to spread rumours and hatred among the different sections of the society.
�Violence, law and order problems can take place within a very short span of time due to deliberate uploading of posts of inciting/instigating nature or by fake and false news circulated by anti-social elements with an intention to foment trouble,� the Chief Minister said.
Stating that the Government was taking necessary steps to prevent spread of fake news and rumours, Sonowal said that Assam Police had undertaken an awareness campaign to caution social media users on fake and false news and was providing tips on how to stay away from nefarious activities.
Taking to task the previous Congress governments at the Centre and in the State for �neglecting� the northeastern region in general and the State in particular, thereby leading to backwardness, Sonowal said Assam along with the rest of the country had embarked on a journey of progress and prosperity initiated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He heaped praise on Modi for according top priority to the North East region in order to bring it at par in terms of progress and development with the rest of the country. He also paid tribute to former Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee for taking initiative to carry out development in the North East.
Sonowal reiterated the State Government�s firmness in implementing zero tolerance policy towards corruption and urged the people to approach the Government portal if they came across any malpractice by Government officials/employees or public representatives.
The Chief Minister said the Government had put behind bars quite a number of people on corruption charges and the legal process was under way.
He hoped that the historic tea town of Jorhat known for being a leading centre of education, culture and intellectual development will contribute much in the state�s journey of progress and prosperity.
Sonowal asked the concerned departments to complete the projects within the stipulated time.
State Health and PWD Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and Speaker of the State Assembly Hitendra Nath Goswami, who is also the Jorhat MLA, along with Jorhat MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa spoke on the ocassion and harped on developmental activities undertaken by the BJP-led governments at the Centre and the State.
Later, Sonowal laid the foundation stone of a tea tourism hub inside the Tocklai Tea Research Institute under the Tea Research Association at Cinnamara here.
The hub will be constructed with State Government funding of Rs 12.37 crore.
