GUWAHATI, March 30 - Defending the act of giving its Uzanbazar property on rent for commercial purpose, the Indian Red Cross Society, Guwahati Branch has said that the premises was given on rent to add to the finances of the Guwahati district branch of the Society to continue with and revamp the humanitarian activities carried out by the organisation.
The clarification came after a number of citizens of Uzanbazar area approached Governor Jagdish Mukhi drawing his attention to the issue of renting the three-storey building on Ward Street, Uzanbazar for commercial use instead of carrying out welfare activities, the prime objective of the Society.
According to Biswajit Chakrabarty, general secretary of the district branch of the Society, the tenancy agreement, accomplished during the tenure of the earlier committee of the district branch in April last year, is legally valid and binding. It has entitled the tenant a tenancy right for five years with effect from May 1, 2018.
In a communiqu�, the Society also clarified that the said premises was on rent for at least two decades to help the Society run its activities.
�The branch does not receive funding from any agency and it has to raise its own finances to run the two outpatient departments, a maternity and child care hospital apart from running orphanage, women�s home and the health camps,� the Society said.
It needs mention that the plot of land where the building stands today was owned by renowned scholar the late Hem Chandra Goswami. After his death his sons Sarat Goswami, Prafulla Goswami and Tarun Goswami donated the land to the Manik Chandra Middle English School for establishment of a night school. They further contributed Rs 50,000 to start the school. The school, however, could not be started on the donated land.
Later, the then Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup allotted the land to the Red Cross Society, Assam for establishing a health centre for the benefit of society. After getting the land, the Society constructed a three-storey building and started a health centre.
The citizens, while submitting a memorandum to the Governor, had expressed concern at the closure of the health centre, which, according to them �deprived needy patients from getting medical treatment�.
