Smartphones provided to Cachar tea garden workers

A district level ceremonial distribution of smartphones to tea garden worker sardars was held at District Library Auditorium in Silchar on Saturday.

The programme, which started around 11am this morning, was organised by the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Cachar in collaboration with the district administration. Smartphones were provided to 696 tea garden workers from different places including Dholai, Borkhola, Sonai, Lakhipur and Katigorah.

Silchar MLA and former deputy speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly Dilip Kumar Paul said the BJP government has taken various initiatives for the progress and welfare of the tea garden community and “good days” finally arrived for the workers after lotus bloomed in Delhi and Dispur.

Taking a potshot at the previous Congress government, he said tea garden workers were deprived of development for several years in the past, however, the scenario has started changing ever since the BJP came to power, he said.

“What they (Congress) did for the tea garden community is known to all,” he said. He also alleged that funds earmarked for the welfare of the tea gardens and their workers were embezzled when the Congress was in power for which the community remained deprived of various facilities over the years.

Speaking about the initiatives taken by the BJP government for the welfare of tea garden workers, he said an amount of Rs. 1 crore has been allocated (each) for construction of internal roads in 549 tea gardens of Assam. Schools are being set up in and around different tea gardens for the education of tea garden workers’ children, he said, adding that the government is having a prudent vision to develop tea industry in the state and will come up with many other initiatives in the days ahead.

Former minister Kabindra Purkayastha said the government’s decision to equip the tea garden community, which works for a very important sector in the state, with technological tools is really appreciable and that the initiative will be helpful for the progress and development of the tea industry in future.

He said the government, by providing smartphones to the tea workers, has also given them a responsibility of utilising the scientific boon in a right direction. “The responsibility is to use the smartphones (technology) for the betterment of the society,” he said. He also lauded all the MLAs present at the occasion for their continuous and dedicated efforts towards the development of the valley.

The programme concluded around 1:15pm. Sonai MLA Aminul Haque Laskar, Udharbond MLA Mihir Kanti Shome, Katigorah MLA Amar Chand Jain, Borkhola MLA Kishore Nath, Cachar BJP president Kaushik Rai and Cachar additional deputy commissioners Ranadip Dam and Rajib Roy were also present.