Himanta praises Sarba in River Island

HT Bureau

GUWAHATI, May 13: In his maiden visit as the head of the new government to Majuli, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday assured the people there of filling the vacuum left by Sarbananda Sonowal.

Sarma made this statement while interacting with the media at the premises of the deputy commissioner’s office.

Singing praises of his predecessor, who represents Majuli in the state assembly, Sarma highlighted the work done by the previous government in the area and asserted that the pace of development at Majuli would receive a greater momentum under his governance.

Sarma said that during the tenure of Sonowal as the CM, several path-breaking initiatives were taken to boost the connectivity network of Majuli including the Majuli-Jorhat connecting bridge over the Brahmaputra. Several improvements in the agricultural and health sectors were seen and measures were also taken to provide proper protection against floods.

He said that the former CM took up many welfare initiatives for the poor and downtrodden apart from extending generous support and cooperation for the Sattras and other religious institutions of Majuli.

The chief minister extended his gratitude towards the people of the river island, for electing the BJP to power for a second consecutive term and for choosing Sonowal as their MLA again.

Speaking on the Covid situation in the area, he assured the people that everything was under control and soon the Centre would increase the supply of vaccines and one lakh people would be vaccinated daily from thereon. He added that every eligible person in Majuli would get vaccinated and urged them to maintain Covid appropriate behaviour until then.

Reviewing the Covid-19 situation in Majuli at a meeting with deputy commissioner and other senior officers the chief minister directed strict implementation of restrictions for containing the pandemic.

The chief minister took stock of the availability of ICU beds in the district along with oxygen, medicines, health infrastructure, etc. in view of the rising number of cases. He directed the officials to create mass awareness on the importance of following Covid-19 protocols for containing the spread of the pandemic and instructed Majuli DC to ramp up testing and make testing mandatory at all entry points to the district.

Apart from reviewing the Covid situation, Sarma also took stock of the status of implementation of various schemes in the river island and stressed on ensuring quality of construction and timely completion of ongoing schemes in the district. He instructed for strengthening vulnerable points of the embankments in the district on war footing ahead of the floods.

Construction of Majuli-Jorhat connecting bridge, status of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), road construction, Ro-Pax ferry service to and from Jorhat, activities of agriculture department also came up for review in the meeting.

Not limiting his visit to a work tour, Sarma on Thursday visited two historic Satras of Majuli, the Dakshinpat Satra and the Aauniaat Satra of Majuli and interacted with the Satradhikars during his visit.