Assam social welfare minister Pramila Rani Brahma on Saturday felicitated 20 senior citizens of Dhubri district, washing their feet as a mark of respect and presenting them with a gamosa and a blanket each.

Pramila spoke of government schemes meant for the benefit of elderly citizens during an awareness programme organised under the Chetona scheme for welfare of senior citizens at the Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua playground in Dhubri town.

The programme was organised by the state social welfare department in association with the Dhubri administration. Five citizens, Irika Nandi, Pachu Gopal Chakraborty, Uddiyaan Chakraborty, Kanlinath Roy Sarkar and Dhiren Paul, of the district were felicitated for their work. The social welfare department’s commissioner and secretary Roopak Kumar Mazumdar and director Debala Devi Das, Golakganj MLA Ashwani Roy Sarkar, Dhubri deputy commissioner Ananta Lal Gyani, local BJP leaders, including the party’s district president Debamoy Sanyal, Dipak Saha and Bimal Oswal, attended the meeting.

Exam venue: There was a hue and cry among the parents and 54 higher secondary examinees following a sudden change of venue of their examination from Dhubri Girls Higher Secondary School to another school located around half-a- kilometre away because of a programme at the playground.

Parents raised their concern over the issue and lambasted the district administration for organising a public meeting on the day of the board/higher secondary examination which ultimately exposed the lack of coordination among the departments of the district.

The authorities concerned changed the venue of the examination to Dhubri Boy’s Higher Secondary School.

The general science examination was held for class X in the first sitting while the examination for advance MIL for class XII was held in the second sitting.