Guwahati: As floods affected several parts of upper Assam, relief groups largely focused on food, rebuilding damaged houses and providing household essentials. Retired IPS officer and former Guwahati police commissioner Jyotirmay Chakravarty provided school supplies to flood-affected children, visiting seven govt schools in the worst-affected areas of Nazira in Sivasagar district.He distributed notebooks, pens, pencils, school bags and other supplies to around 1,100 to 1,200 students. Some of the items are not usually included in govt kits, he said.“It was purely my individual effort, focused on seven schools in Nazira where I felt I could help. It may not be enough, but if 10 to 20 people come forward similarly, it will make a big difference,” Chakravarty said.He said textbooks in the govt schools were supplied by the govt, making it difficult to replace damaged books through market purchases. Uniforms, too, were provided by the govt.“My focus was to help them get educational kits not usually provided by the govt. When many families are struggling for food, buying educational kits may not be possible for them,” he said.Chakravarty said he asked the students for two things in return: that they study with complete dedication and become more conscious and proactive about the safety and conservation of nature and the environment.He wrote in a social media post on Wednesday: “If we cannot prevent the plundering by greedy, corrupt, and exploitative forces, the future of the new generation will be dark. In such a scenario, breaking into one’s own savings to act as a donor also becomes completely meaningless.”Dhiren Bhuyan, a teacher at Tribeni High School, one of the seven schools, praised the initiative.“While ration and other essentials arrived in trucks, many students needed educational items that had been washed away. His donations set an example and brought joy to many,” Bhuyan said.Floodwaters also damaged computers, laboratories and other school infrastructure — losses that Chakravarty said would take a long time to recover from.As an immediate measure, he suggested opening intact laboratories at nearby govt and private institutions to students from the affected schools. He said he chose govt schools because they largely serve financially disadvantaged students, particularly in rural areas.
