Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that loans given to by bell-metal entrepreneurs will be written off

State government has provided Rs 5-crore Loan by bell-metal entrepreneurs. Sarma on Thursday on a day-long visit to Barpeta district took part in a number of events, including the inauguration ceremony of the newly-constructed Inspection Bungalow of the Public Works Roads Department at Kayakuchi.

Built at a cost of Rs 2 crore under the State-Owned Priority Development (SOPD) fund, the new inspection bungalow is spread across three floors, including the ground floor, and has a total of 11 rooms, of which 6 are air-conditioned while the rest of the rooms are non-air-conditioned. It also contains a suite for very important person (VIP) visit.

The Chief Minister, in a brief meeting at the conference hall of the inspection bungalow with officials of PWRD and representatives of civil society organisations, took stock of the various ongoing developmental activities as well as grievances and expectations of the public from the Sarukhetri assembly constituency. The Chief Minister directed the officials concerned to take necessary measures for timely completion of the developmental activities while assuring the civil society members of all support from the government in mitigating their grievances and fulfilling their demands. The Chief Minister lauded Sarukhetri Member of Legislative Assembly Jakir Hussain Sikdar, under whose constituency Kayakuchi falls, for his efforts at overall development of the Kayakuchi area.


Sarma laid the foundation stone for construction of a new Monikut (the sanctuary) and pathway leading to it of the historic Jagannath Temple at Pachkhel Goyagoiyoroh in Sarthebari. The Chief Minister declared a sum of Rs 50 lakh as first tranche of funding from the government for the above works. The Chief Minister also declared a series of projects and schemes aimed towards overall development the bell-metal town and its residents.

Sarma assured the residents of Sarthebari of immediate actions from the government in upgrading the current Sarthebari civil hospital into a state-of-the-art hospital equipped with the modern medical machineries and adequate healthcare staff. He also declared that loans and credits totalling Rs 5 crore being availed by various bell-metal industry entrepreneurs will be treated as grants and neither the principle amount not the interests will have to be returned. This would act as a huge boost to the bell-metal industry, Sarma added.