Guwahati: In a dignified and noiseless second day’s session of the 15th Assam legislative assembly on Saturday, State Governor professor Jagdish Mukhi described various achievements of the past government in Dispur, also led by the Bhartiya Janata Party, along with a number of commitments including the protection of sacred cows.
Relatively a very peaceful session was witnessed with no disruption from the opposition party members where Governor Mukhi could complete his address highlighting the new government’s promises on containing the Covid-19 crisis and related health issues, flood and erosion problems, militancy and other security concerns.
“We all revere and worship cows. It is considered a sacred animal as it nurtures us through life-sustaining milk,” said Governor Mukhi adding that the government was planning to introduce a cow protection bill in the next assembly session. The proposed bill envisages the imposition of a complete ban on the transport of cattle outside the State. The government will adopt a zero-tolerance policy and enforce stringent punishment for the offenders. Once passed, Assam will join other States of the country who had accord similar initiatives.
Speaking about the pandemic, the Governor asserted that the government’s topmost priority is to contain the spread of Covid -19 disease during the 2nd wave. During the first wave last year, Assam was one of the top-performing states in the country in controlling the pandemic effectively, he claimed. Governor Mukhi also highlighted various other steps like adding more ICU beds, oxygen beds and corona-care centres along with improving oxygen generation & storage capacity and other medical infrastructures. He also added that the government is committed to providing vaccination free of cost to the citizens in all health institutions.
Making Assam flood-proof is also a priority area for the government, stated the Governor adding that Mission Brahmaputra will be launched with the intent of preventing loss of lives, livelihood and properties through a multipronged strategy involving dredging of the river and building reservoirs to store excess water from Brahmaputra and its tributaries. He also mentioned the initiative to strengthen the Namghars (community prayer halls) and protecting the rights of the Sattras (Vaisnavite monasteries). A task force will be constituted to recover the lands of the Sattras and other places of worship from the encroachers revealed the Governor.
Mentioning about the unilateral ceasefire recently announced by the Ulfa (I) leaders, Governor Mukhi stated that the government considers it as a step in the positive direction. He also urged the militant leadership to set in motion the process to device the ground rules during the period of ceasefire, as only the ceasefire announcement might not yield the desired results.
