Come July, all Assam ministers, MLAs and government officials staying in government quarters will have to pay their electricity bills. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said this decision would bring an end to VIP culture. “We are ending the #VIPCulture rule of paying electricity bills of government officials using tax payer money. Myself and the Chief Secretary will set an example and start paying our power bills from July 1 onwards. Beginning July 2024, all public servants will have to pay for their own electricity consumption,” he wrote on X. He said it was implemented at 8,000 government offices, schools, etc.
Transgender posts swim pic, asked to leave school
A Class XI transgender student in the city had to leave her school, for it objected to her act of posting a swimsuit photo on her social media account. The teenager, who was a student of Humanities, had taken the swimsuit photo during a recent outing. The school authority was upset that she did not follow the rules which was evident when she had posted her “semi-nude” photo on social media. Her parents said they would take legal recourse against the school management. They were worried about her mental health given the kind of harassment she faced.
1st mobile tea residue testing lab comes up
More than 200 years after tea was discovered in Assam, the state has got its first mobile laboratory for testing green tea leaves and processed teas. The Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers’ Association launched the “Eurofins Agro Laboratories” in Dibrugarh on Monday. The state’s industries and commerce minister Bimal Borah inaugurated the state-of-the-art lab. He was confident the initiative would contribute to ensuring that “The Cuppa that Cheers” is delivered to consumers in a manner that is compliant with global tea manufacturing standards. The testing lab is expected to play a key role in ensuring quality control.
Prasanta Mazumdar
Our correspondent in Guwahati
prasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com