Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 09/23

UNION MINISTER TOURS SWGH, LAUNCHES MOBILE VETY UNITS AT MAHENDRAGANJ

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala on Tuesday launched the Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs) at an impressive function organized by the AH and Veterinary Department at Mahendraganj. He later flagged off the vans at Garobadha on his departure from South West Garo Hills district. Each van or mobile veterinary clinic comes with all necessary equipments required for treatment of animals and would have one doctor, a paramedical staff and a driver.

In his address, the Union Minister said that these mobile units have been facilitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to to help the rural farmers of the area to ease the treatment of the animals. We have dedicated 17 MVUs to Meghalaya. 90 percent of their expenditure will be borne by the Government of India. In the entire State, the veterinary facilities will be available at the doorstep of the people. One has to just dial 1962 and an MVU will reach your doorstep, he said. With the help of these MVUs the officials of AH and Veterinary department will be able to conduct vaccination, Artificial insemination and all kinds of treatment for sick animals, he added.

Rupala lauded the efforts of the State officials for managing the developmental works at the grassroots level. He specifically mentioned Fisheries department for increasing fish production in the district, adding that the State will be able to export fish and meet the deficit. The area also has the potential in poultry and dairy, he observed. I visited and inspected the Dairy Farm near Tura. It's an old one. Time has changed and it needs to be upgraded. The Cooperative model should be adopted to help dairy farmers. Dairy Farmers should cooperate with the local administration and benefit from the schemes of Central Government, he said. He also said that Border villages are being prioritized under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. We the Ministers have been instructed to visit the border areas and interact with the border communities, he said.

On the second day of his visit to South West Garo Hills the Union Minister undertook a whirlwind tour to various field projects in the district. He visited the Indo Bangladesh Border Haat at Kalaichar and inspected the border fencing along the 38-km border with Bangladesh. He interacted with the BSF jawans, BSF officials, officials of Border Areas Development department and the members of Border Haat Committee who raised issues like lack of basic amenities and infrastructure for traders in the Haat.

Rupala was also impressed by the maintenance of Aqua Park at Jolgaon by fish farmer and Taljawa lake at Kumligaon which have been created with the assistance of Central and State schemes through community effort. Earlier he also paid a visit to Kamakhya Temple at Thakuranbari and interacted with local communities, SHGs, etc at Monabari and Kodaldhowa villages of the district.

Press Release No. 10/23

FOUNDATION STONE LAID FOR CONSTRUCTION OF NEW BUILDING OF CHOKPOT C AND RD BLOCK OFFICE

Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for the construction of the new office building of Chokpot C and RD Block and Degree College Building in Chokpot, South Garo Hills. The Chokpot C and RD Block office will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 2Cr while Rs 2.81 Cr will be spent for the construction of the NEC funded Chokpot Degree College Building.

Addressing the gathering the Chief Minister said that the infrastructure upgrade will have a positive impact on the lives of the people of Chokpot area. We are happy to deliver on the commitment we made to the people of Chokpot. The new office building will ensure that Government services are delivered efficiently and in a timely manner, the Chief Minister said. He added that that sanction has been accorded for the construction of new office buildings in other C and RD blocks across the State as well.

Speaking at length on the education scenario in Chokpot area, the Chief Minister said that the new college building will uplift the overall education standard in the region. We understand the hardship that students of Chokpot area have to endure due to lack of higher educational institutes here. The Government has taken a concerted step to ensure that the students do not miss out on the opportunity for higher learning, he said.

During the function the Chief Minister also took the opportunity to enlighten the public on the Government’s flagship farmers welfare programmes, FOCUS and FOCUS plus. He also highlighted the various opportunities that the people can avail under the YESS and PROGRESS programmes of the Government. The Chief Minister also made a direct benefit transfer of Rs 26.91 Cr to 53832 beneficiaries across the State under the FOCUS plus program, at Chokpot today.