Dhemaji: A forgotten district in aam aadmi 2008 Budget

Dhemaji which at one point of time was an important township. I say with a heavy heart and felt for the people who are so bereft of basic need of life in contact to their compatriots in the rest of the world. I wonder why does this place remains so neglected till today when so many prominent personalities, eminent writers, journalists, doctors, top government officials, politicians, educationalists can trace their roots from this area.

2008 Budget: There is hardly anything of significance mentioned in the key sectors like Agriculture, Handloom & Sericulture, Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Forest conservation, Environment, Science & Technology, Guwahati Development etc.

Although the Budget shows a divert to growth in a balanced manner, it falls short of specific strategy to reduce unemployment which is perhaps the largest problem. We wonder how we going to meet the unprecedented order of deficit. The debt burden which currently runs at amount Rs 20, 000 crores will therefore expectedly go still higher in the coming fiscal.

Recent Budget for the fiscal 2008 - 2009 is more or less soft and people friendly and in conformity with guide posts of the election oriented Union Budget. It contains enough material on tax - expenditure policy to a higher growth path in his endeavour to narrow down its distance from the national economy.

CM has taken the right steps to grant for school infrastructure provided each institution get the same amount of grant. Such grants should always be need based and not ad-hoc type with populist connotations!. Because the absence of infrastructure is certainly not the same in the 429 provicialized high / higher secondary schools or all the girl's schools set up 75 years back. Again there seem to be no concern of the state govt. for enterprise building by local enterpreneurs of the state. It is quite understandable while preparing the budget concerning tax - sops proposals creation of some new posts, colleges and universities, constitution of development councils to six ethnic groups which have been on war path or grant of ST status, special packages to the tea tribes and minoritiesand the next parlimentary elections must have played a decisive role. The Budget for 'Aam Aadmi' remains to be seen as other than committing to implement the centrally sponsored rural developmemt schemes which are funded Centrally with a small State share no state government schemes of any reckening have been announced.

Asseration of ones identity would appear quite natural, especially in societies where primordial loyalities have dominant say over one's world view. Social movement have their foundations among people who feels deprived of soom good (s) or resource (s)

The decision of Govt. to set up a 3 more new medical colleges in Jorhat, Barpeta and Kokrajhar is a very good head start. Similarly an Engineering college with newer branches of engineering is a high pirority.

Dhemaji being geo-graphically disadvantaged, economically backward, having high rural and tribal population, absence of high technical institution should be the criteria to select it for awarding an opportunity to complete with progressive cities. It seems everything gone out of the window. Situated in a small corner of the state Dhemaji comes to limelight due to control miseries caused by flood every year. For uniform development of Assam in particular and of the county in general, no part of the county should be considered 'remote'.

Assam has only 3 Engineering college. Even after 60 years of independence, the north bank of Brahmaputra lacks any higher educational institute apart from Tezpur university. Professional institutes have a great role to play in the overall development of the society. An engineering college at Dhemaji could have designed to cater to local needs and face local challenges particularly those of Lakhimpur districts of Assam and neighbouring state of Arunachal Pradesh and in these backward areas. Better way for further development, infrastructure, attracting industries only then the 'backward area' and 'no communication' syndrome will disappear from the geo-graphical map.

This shortfall leads to deprivation of deserving candidates by forcing them to keep away from persuing higher education.

It is very sad that Dhemaji has been once again ignored in the recent Budget. May be it is truly a forgotten district?

Rini Kakati