Agriculture Minister Pijush Hazarika attends PM-KISAN 24th installment release program virtually from Sribhumi; announces launch of ‘Rajma Mission’ in Barak Valley.
Inspects newly established 2-lakh sapling capacity Oil Palm nursery at Pathini Tea Garden; unveils life-size statues of Mahabir Lachit Borphukan and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Dalim Phukan.
Hills Live News, Guwahati, Oct 30: Minister for Agriculture, Irrigation, and Parliamentary Affairs Pijush Hazarika today virtually attended the national ceremony from Sribhumi district, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 24th installment of PM-KISAN amounting to over Rs 18,690 crore directly into the bank accounts of more than 9.34 crore farmers nationwide from Banaskantha, Gujarat.
As part of the event, the Prime Minister dedicated 521 projects constructed under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) to the nation and launched 12 horticulture clusters.
Addressing the gathering on this occasion, Minister Hazarika announced that with the objective of diversifying farm income, the Agriculture Department will very soon launch a special ‘Rajma Mission’ in the districts of Barak Valley.
Under this initiative, high-quality rajma seeds will be distributed extensively starting next year. Urging local farmers to focus on this profitable crop, the Minister also informed that areca nut and coconut saplings will be distributed on a large scale across the region.
He reiterated that under the visionary guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state government remains steadfast in delivering prosperity to every farmer through modern agricultural infrastructure, technology, and crop diversification.
Additionally, Minister Hazarika inspected a state-of-the-art Oil Palm nursery established in collaboration with Godrej Agrovet Limited under the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) at Pathini Tea Garden in Akaidum village under Patharkandi Development Block, Sribhumi.
Spanning 1,972 square meters, this modern shade-net nursery holds the capacity to nurture 2 lakh high-quality Oil Palm saplings. The Minister noted that expanding such alternative and commercially viable crops in traditional tea garden areas will inject new momentum into the local economy, generate self-employment, and significantly augment farm incomes.
In a series of subsequent official engagements, Minister Hazarika unveiled a life-size statue of Mahabir Lachit Borphukan at Anipur in Ramkrishna Nagar, Sribhumi. Furthermore, he unveiled another life-size statue of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Ramkrishna Block.
The Minister was accompanied across these events by Cabinet Minister Krishnendu Paul, MLA Bijoy Malakar, and MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha among others.