Nagaon: The Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, who visited Nagaon to attend several programmes, distributed cheques today to beneficiaries under the Chief Minister’s Atmanirbhar Assam 2.0 Scheme at an event held at Nehru Bali in Nagaon town (Atmanirbhar Assam 2.0).
Dr. Sarma released the first installment of financial assistance under the scheme to 4,196 youths from Nagaon district, 1,944 youths from Morigaon district, and 1,824 youths from Hojai district.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Sarma said, “Assam needs ‘employers’ or job creators, not ‘employees.’ One who is an employee cannot provide employment to others. But one who is an entrepreneur or job creator can generate employment for many.”
He remarked that the objective of the Chief Minister’s Atmanirbhar Assam scheme is not merely to distribute cheques, saying, “The aim of this scheme is to shape the youth into successful entrepreneurs and businesspersons. Earlier, 25,000 youths across Assam were provided financial assistance under Atmanirbhar Assam 2.0. Of them, 2,000 misused the funds, while 23,000 utilized them properly.”
Referring to the large number of Assamese youths working in other states for low wages, he said, “After paying rent and food expenses, they are unable to maintain a proper standard of living. For various reasons, many youths die outside the state. A special number has been introduced to bring back the bodies of youths who die outside Assam. By calling this number, the police will ensure the body is brought back to Assam. This initiative has been named ‘Shraddhanjali.’”
Expressing concern, Dr. Sarma stated, “Every month, nearly 50 youths from Assam die outside the state. At least 20 lakh youths from Assam are currently working outside the state.” He emphasized that unemployment cannot be resolved solely through government jobs and that entrepreneurship is the key solution. He said, “If industries are established in Assam, apart from generating direct employment, they can create opportunities for 10,000 youths through associated businesses.”
The Chief Minister mentioned that at Guwahati Airport alone, 30,000 youths could get direct or indirect employment. “If we can develop industries and businesses simultaneously, we can provide jobs to youths and also bring back those working outside the state,” he said.
Dr. Sarma further stated that if the BJP wins the upcoming elections, 10 lakh youths will be provided financial assistance under the Atmanirbhar scheme. “We want to make 7,000 to 10,000 youths beneficiaries under the scheme in every constituency,” he added.
Citing a recent rape incident in Dhing, the Chief Minister said, “After protests over the incident, some unknown people of Bangladeshi origin in Nagaon commented that they would stop sending fish to Upper Assam. Outsiders coming to Assam are controlling the economy. Earlier, they came to work in the fields of Assamese households. But if you examine land sale records in Nagaon over the last five years, Assamese people are at the top of the sellers’ list but not among the buyers.”
Expressing concern, he said, “How can a community survive like this? We have retreated from Rupohi, Dhing and Jamunamukh, and now there is no place left to retreat. From Dhing and Rupohi, people send me messages to save them. Do we have to protect Assamese people in Assam itself? In the last 75 years, no one, including the previous Chief Ministers, thought about how we lost our land, fields and markets.”
He also said, “The shops in front of Nagaon Medical College earn ₹20,000 daily. But find out who is running these shops.”
He added, “Assamese people are not having enough children, and as a result, our population is declining. We are unwilling to work, and we are losing control of the economy. Now they even threaten that if they stop sending fish to Upper Assam, we will not get fish to eat. Earlier, our Scheduled Caste communities produced fish. Today, fish production is controlled by unknown outsiders. Assamese people must compete and fight. The community must survive. Otherwise, a day will come when just as they now work in our homes, in ten years our children may have to work in theirs.”
Calling upon the public, he said, “This government fears no one. The government stands with Assamese people. Use the opportunity of the BJP government to rebuild the community.”
He alleged that during the Congress regime, 60 percent of government jobs went to Assamese youths and 40 percent to Muslim youths. He further claimed that under the present government, 90 percent of jobs are given to Assamese youths based on merit. “In our government, jobs are not given by Rakibul Hussain; they are given on the basis of merit,” he said.
Dr. Sarma stated that in the last five years, 1.5 lakh bighas of land have been cleared of encroachment, and in the next five years, 5 lakh bighas will be cleared.
Urging people to resolve to save Assam, he said, “We will not give up the land beneath our feet.” Referring to Bagh Hazarika as a fictional character and mentioning outsiders, he said, “They would write history by replacing Sankar-Madhav with Sankar-Azan. They would claim that Bagh Hazarika fought alongside the great warrior Lachit Borphukan. We cannot allow such history to be written. Assamese people will write Assam’s history and its glorious legacy. We respect everyone born in Assam. But we cannot allow Muslims who came from Bangladesh to write our history. For this, Assamese people must have political and economic power and the courage to work.”
He also said that most of the youths who built the Bogibeel Bridge and Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu were Assamese. “Some spread the narrative that Assamese people do not work. We must change Assam. Assamese people must firmly hold onto Assam. We must protect our land, our country, our community,” he said.
It may be noted that during the visit, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma also inaugurated the beautification works along the bank of Morikolong Park Lake in Nagaon town and unveiled a full-length statue of Jyotiprasad Agarwala at Rupkonwar Chowk.
The programme was attended by Minister Keshab Mahanta, Minister Pijush Hazarika, Nagaon-Batadrava MLA Rupak Sharma, Baghmara MLA Jitu Goswami, Samaguri MLA Diplu Ranjan Sarma, Raha MLA Shashikanta Das, Morigaon MLA Ramakanta Deuri, Hojai MLA Ramkrishna Ghosh, Lamding MLA Shibu Mishra, Nagaon Deputy Commissioner Debashish Sharma, Hojai Deputy Commissioner Bidyut Bikash Bhagawati, former Minister Gautam Bora and others.
India’s First Rail-cum-Road Tunnel to Be Built Under the Brahmaputra