Just prior to the foundation-laying ceremony of Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University in Gohpur on November 8, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thrusday flagged off 270 vehicles carrying Amrit Kalash containing soil collected from every village and municipal ward for the construction of the university. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will lay the foundation stone of Assam’s first university focussed on technical and vocational education and training.
It may be noted that two years ago in the year 2023, the people of the state came together to donate soil from their villages during Amrit Kalash Yatra. The soil thus collected, will be used in the Bhumi Pujan of Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University on 8 November. Speaking on the occasion at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati, Chief Minister Sarma said that the Amrit Kalash Yatra programme was observed in Assam from September 20, 2023, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’, initiative. Under this programme, soil or rice was collected from every household in every village and municipal ward across the state.
Out of the 540 Amrit Kalash thus received from the 270 development blocks and municipal bodies of the state, 270 were sent to New Delhi for the construction of the Amrit Vatika near the National War Memorial, while the remaining 270 were preserved at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra. The Chief Minister said, “I consider it my pleasure to flag off the 270 Amrit Kalash which will be used at the Bhumi Pujan ceremony of Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University in Gohpur”.
The Chief Minister described the construction of Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University as one of the most ambitious projects of the State Government and stated that it will be the country’s first university dedicated to technology-based vocational education and training. He said that the institution will be built over 731 bighas of land at Bholaguri Tea
Estate in Gohpur with an estimated expenditure of `500 crore. The Public Works Department has already completed the tendering process and is ready to begin construction. CM Sarma further stated that after Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University, this new university will emerge as another premier institution of higher education in Assam. He mentioned that the area of land allotted for the new university exceeds that of Tezpur University. State Government has made adequate financial provisions to ensure that Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University becomes a modern educational institution of higher education.
The university will offer advanced courses in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain and other emerging disciplines. He also informed that efforts are underway to establish academic collaboration between this university and a reputed international institution. The Chief Minister moreover informed that financial compensation and rehabilitation arrangements have already been made for the workers of Bholaguri Tea Estate. He also announced that the Government has appointed Professor IIT Guwahati Parameswar
Iyer as the mentor to oversee the academic and institutional framework of the university. CM Sarma said that the soil thus sent for the university symbolises the collective aspirations and dreams of every person in Assam. Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will arrive in Assam on Friday to interact with around 300 young entrepreneurs of Assam at the semiconductor project in Jagiroad. She will also inaugurate the state of the art river terminal constructed near Sukreswar Ghat in Guwahati and open to the public the newly beautified Brahmaputra riverfront at Uzan Bazar near the Raj Bhavan.
