Govt to increase VDP’s incentive from Rs 2500: Sonowal

Guwahati, January 29: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today attended the 72nd foundation day programme of Village Defence Organisation (VDO) as the chief guest at Talatal Ghar premises in Sivasagar. 

At the beginning, he paid floral tributes at the portrait of VDO’s founder Harinarayan Barua. He said the government was considering to increase the incentive of VDPs from the present amount of Rs 2500 while directing DG of Assam Police to take steps for erecting a statue of VDO’s founder Harinarayan Barua at Guwahati.

Sonowal referred to Mahatma Gandhi’s remark that ‘The soul of India lives in its villages’ and said that the rural areas, where 84 percent of the country’s population reside, must be developed to make India stronger. Efforts must be made by all stakeholders to develop the 26 thousand villages through the increase of agricultural production in Assam and humanistic values must be inculcated among the younger generation, he said.

Sonowal called on the VDO volunteers to work for foiling all evil designs of anti-social elements to disturb the peace and harmony in the villages while striving for Gandhiji’s ideals of Ram Rajya through maintenance of cleanliness in villages. He also informed that the State