HT Correspondent
HOJAI, Aug 6: In synchronisation with rest of the State, the ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’ marking the death anniversary of Bharat Ratna Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi was observed by the Hojai district administration at the conference hall of deputy commissioner at district headquarter Sankardevnagar in Hojai on Friday. Pradip Bagchi, retired lecturer, Hojai College; L.Patgiri, ex- registrar, Rabindranath Tagore University; Tosheswar Tamuli Phookan, senior journalist graced the occasion as the guest. At the very outset, deputy commissioner Anupam Choudhury lit a lamp in front of the portrait of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi followed by floral tribute by all the guests to the legendary figure. After that, ADC Urmi Medhi briefly explained the objective of the programme. DC Anupam Choudhury highlighted the significance of ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’. He further emphasised on the contribution of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi. All the guests spoke on the occasion and kept their views. On this occasion, two government employees- Kush Kumar Hazarika of Hojai Agriculture department and Sanjay Kumar Das, staff, Lumding Fire Extinguisher and Disaster Management Service Centre, Hojai were felicitated with phulam gamosa and a certificate for their dedicated service, integrity and discipline. ASP Ponjit Dowarah and many other officials and guests were present during the programme.
Our Haflong Correspondent adds: On the occasion of the 72nd death anniversary of Bharat Ratna Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi, ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’ was also organised in Haflong along with the rest of the state on Friday. Assam minister for Power, Mines and Mineral, Nandita Gorlosa attended the programme and presented the Lok Sewa Award to the recipient of non-gazetted government employees at the event organised at the auditorium hall of Haflong Government College.
The award was conferred to Remina Rupsi, head assistant of deputy commissioner’s office for her dedication, commitment and service towards the public.
It may be noted that altogether 99 State Government employees, 10 at the state level and 89 at the district level in recognition of their meritorious services were conferred with the Lok Sewa Award. As a part of the award each awardee was given a citation, Rs 25,000 and an extension of one year of their total service. Hence, an awardee of Lok Sewa Award will be superannuated at the age 61 years.
Addressing the audience comprising of leading citizens of the district, representatives of various apex bodies, NGOs, teachers and students of the college minister Nandita Gorlosa urged the employees to work selflessly with the attitude of service to the public and nation. She added that if the employees in each office perform their duties with utmost dedication and honesty, the state and the nation will grow and the public will be benefitted. Congratulating the recipients of the award, she added that this will definitely be a driving force for others too.
The minister also added that along with the celebrations of ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’, Assam marks the culmination of ‘Mission Sadbhavana Phase I’. She said that under the mission, the Government of Assam has disposed all petitions received so far leading the government to dispose 2.75 lakh files out of the 3.24 lakh files opened so far in Assam Secretariat. The files will be classified and some files will be kept, some will be sent to archives and others will be disposed off permanently by putting the files in a shredding machine.
On this occasion, the process of shredding of files in Janata Bhawan was also launched. Minister Gorlosa informed that from the coming October 2, Assam Secretariat will completely become digital or e-office.
Speaking on the occasion, DC Nazreen Ahmed congratulated the award winner and she is hopeful that more and more people will be inspired from this district. Paying tributes to Bharat Ratna Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi on his 72nd death anniversary DC Nazreen Ahmed added that the day is celebrated as ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’ as a mark of respect to the first chief minister of Assam and his unparalleled contribution to the state and its people.
Superintendent of police Maynak Kumar, narrating the life history and contribution of Bharat Ratna Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi, said that it was because of him that Assam remained an integral part of India. His role of opposing the grouping policy will forever be cherished by the people of Assam.
Our Silchar Correspondent adds: Along with the rest of the state, ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’ was observed with fanfare in Cachar on Friday. A programme was organised by the Cachar district administration at Gandhi Bhavan in Silchar on the occasion. Cachar Guardian minister Ashok Singhal, who is also the minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Irrigation attended the event in which five government employees Topojoyti Dutta, Naresh Barman, Nurul Amin Laskar, Hafizur Rahaman Laskar and Saikat Chakraborty were presented Lok Sewa Award for their dedicated service, discipline and integrity.
The award instituted by the government for non-gazetted officers and employees include Rs 25,000, extension of service period by a year and a citation.
Earlier, minister Singhal paid floral tribute to the portrait of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi.
Speaking on the occasion, minister Singhal said that Gopinath Bordoloi was a prominent leader and due to his effort, Assam remained a part of India.
“Separatist forces have existed in Assam since Bordoloi’s time. Gopinath Bordoloi knew that these separatist forces wanted to divide Assam and merge it with Pakistan but with strong leadership, he thwarted the attempts of the separatists. At that time, if he had not come forward in this way, the entire north-east would not be on the map of India today. But sadly, nothing much has been done to commemorate or honour his contributions to the country for a long time. In 1999, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre honoured Gopinath Bordoloi with the title of Bharat Ratna. And this time the Assam Government led by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared the day of his demise as ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’,” Singhal said.
Speaking about the flood of last June, the minister said that at that time, many people called him from Silchar and complained that the government machinery was not working properly but this should also be kept in mind, the government workers and officials were also in trouble like others because of the unprecedented havoc. It is not at all right to think that the government employees who are in trouble due to water entering the house will become superhuman and come to the aid of others, he said.
Earlier, in his welcome address, deputy commissioner Rohan Kumar Jha said the government has introduced the practice of awarding Lok Sewa Award on ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’ to encourage the government employees. He also said that in some cases the concerned district administrators are rewarded due to the performance of a particular district. But the names of subordinate staff who have special contributions behind it are not disclosed. The Lok Sewa Award will also bring forward the contribution of these employees.
Talking at the event, Lakhipur MLA Kaushik Rai said the government has started observing Lok Kalyan Diwas to inform the next generation about the contribution of Gopinath Bordoloi and due to Lok Sewa Award, a healthy competition will be created among the employees which will ultimately benefit the people.
Udharbandh MLA Mihir Kanti Som applauded the government for introducing Lok Sewa Award to encourage workers.
District development commissioner, Rajib Roy; former Kathigorah MLA, Amar Chand Jain also spoke on the occasion.
Our Tezpur Correspondent adds: Along with the rest of the state, ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’ was observed by Sonitpur district administration in a meeting held at the new conference hall of the deputy commissioner’s office here on Friday. Parimal Suklabaidya, minister for Forests, Fisheries and Excise was present as the chief guest on the occasion. Also present were Prithiraj Rava, MLA, Tezpur; DC Deba Kumar Mishra; Dolly Surin, chairperson, Sonitpur Zila Parishad; Karabi Saikia, CEO, Zila Parishad; Prajnanoo Bhattacharyya, chairperson, Tezpur Municipal Board; Batash Orang, social worker; senior district administration officials, leading citizens and staff of the deputy commissioner’s office establishment.
At the very outset, floral tributes were offered at the portrait of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi. The minister gave away the Lok Sewa Award to three non-gazetted employees of the district- Medini Borah, senior assistant, office of the deputy commissioner; Bhabananda Choudhury, driver, office of the project officer (Crash), Intensive Egg and Poultry cum Marketing Centre, Tezpur and Bhagya Ram Mech, peon, office of the deputy commissioner. Altogether, 89 district level employees across Assam and 10 state level employees have been selected for this award.
The awardees received a citation, a cash award of Rs 25,000 and a one year extension of service beyond the retirement age.
Our Biswanath Correspondent adds: To mark and recall the contributions of Bharat Ratna Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi, the first chief minister of Assam, the state government observed the death anniversary of the legend as ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’. To commemorate the death anniversary of the first chief minister of Assam Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi, Biswanath district administration organised ‘Lok Kalyan Diwas’ in Biswanath at the conference hall of Biswanath Municipal Board. The day-long programme began with the lighting of a ceremonial lamp in front of the portrait of the leader by Munindra Nath Nagatey, deputy commissioner of Biswanath. Biswanath DC Munindra Nath Nagatey, SP Nabin Singh, Dhanada Kalita, Jamir Ahmed, Amar Jyoti Borthakur, Dr Ranjan Gogoi briefed on the life and ideology of the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi.
In between the programme, Nayani Bharali and Aimoni Hazarika, the two recipients of Lok Kalyan Award were felicitated by Biswanath district administration with cash and citations. The programme was attended by Liza Talukdar, ADC, Biswajit Saikia, ADC and DIPRO (i/c), Debasish Goswami, election officer, Ananya Lahkar, assistant commissioner, Paresh Borkakaty, deputy director of Assam Animal Husbandry, Diganta Ghatowar beside others.
