Proposal to supply Brahmaputra water to Jorhat urban areas awaits PM nod
JORHAT, Dec 25 - A proposal to provide potable water to residents of urban areas of Jorhat from the Brahmaputra is under active consideration at the Prime Minister�s Office, and from next month, water from the mighty river will be supplied to several villages off Jorhat town under a separate scheme.
This was announced by the State Assembly Speaker and Jorhat MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami while speaking at a function organized after he dedicated a newly-installed power transformer at Purana Masjid at Old Balibat locality here on Wednesday evening.
The Masjid, one of the oldest mosques in Upper Assam, which was established in 1835, has been allotted a 63-KVA transformer by the Assam Power Development Corporation Limited under the State-owned Priority Development Scheme of the Assam government with the mosque management bearing the installation cost of over Rs 3 lakh.
Goswami, while giving a description of the developmental projects and schemes undertaken by the present State government in the Jorhat Assembly constituency in the past four-and-a-half years, disclosed that a Rs 160-crore proposal to provide water to urban residents is under active consideration at the Prime Minister level.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for according top priority to development of the Northeast, Goswami said there has been a heavy fund flow to the region from the Centre in the past six years and Assam has handsomely benefited from the same.
He said the ambitious project to bring water from the Brahmaputra to supply to nearby villagers on the outskirts here, which was announced a long time ago, has seen the light of the day during this government�s tenure, and, in January, the project will be fully functional and will supply water to areas under four gaon panchayats within the constituency.
The Speaker said that with huge amounts of funds sanctioned towards the region, the infrastructure development in the constituency and also across the district is getting enhanced. He said that all roads under the Jorhat Municipal Board areas will be made pucca within a year.
The local MLA said that a Rs 57-crore riverfront development and beautification project along the Bhogdoi river is also in the pipeline. Construction of a rail overbridge is nearing completion in Jorhat and two others, too, have been sanctioned.
Goswami, while praising the masjid management commitee for bearing the cost in the installation of the transformer, announced allotment of Rs 2.5 lakh from the government funds for construction of a paver block approach pathway to the place where transformer has been installed. A total of Rs 3.5 lakh is estimated to be required to build the pathway.
Goswami said he has requested the alumni of the eminent educational institute � Jorhat Govt Boys� Higher Secondary and Multipurpose School � to contribute Rs 1 crore out of Rs 3 crore to be needed for carrying out renovation and repairing works so as to involve them. Later, Goswami dedicated to the public another power transformer (250 KVA) installed by the APDCL under the Integrated Power Development Scheme at the Marwari Patti-Chamber Road junction near the Masjid.
The CEO of the Jorhat Electric Circle Syed Abu Nasim Fakhruddin, Robert Handique (AGM, Jorhat Electrical Division-I), Mukut Das (AGM, Rural Electrification), Bornali Bora, subdivisional engineer (Subdivision II) � all from APDCL, Jorhat Electrical Circle � and retired AGM of APDCL (Jorhat Circle) Nalin Borthakur were present at both the ceremonies.
