Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday urged the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) to play an active role in the high-level committee constituted by the Centre for safeguarding the cultural and linguistic identity of indigenous people of Assam through Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.

While speaking at the foundation-stone laying programme of the 550-bed Tinsukia Medical College at Sukan Pukhuri in Tinsukia district, Sonowal said, “I am a son of the soil and I will not let Assamese people get marginalised in their own place. Let us all join hands to find an acceptable, rational and practical solution to this issue.”

Sonowal laid the foundation stone and performed bhumi puja for the medical college.

He said, “This is a new era of growth and healthcare development in the state. Once completed, Tinsukia Medical College would be able to cater to the needs of the people of Upper Assam and many districts of Arunachal Pradesh.”

Sonowal called on the people to remain alert to thwart all designs of disrupting the age-old harmony in society and asserted that the Assamese race is strong and its existence cannot be threatened by foreigners and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been working for the development of the state and region.

Addressing the gathering, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said because of the state government’s relentless efforts to improve the health sector, the number of medical colleges in the state is going to increase to 14 from six.

“Tinsukia Medical College is the 12th medical college of the state and has been set up at a cost of Rs 405 crore. It will also have a 50-bed cancer hospital. The foundation stone of two more such medical colleges would be laid at Nalbari and Karimganj,” Sarma said and added, “The construction of Tinsukia Medical College would be completed within three years.”

Dibrugarh MP Rameswar Teli and Tinsukia MLA Sanjay Kishan, MLAs Bolin Chetia, Suren Phukan, Bhaskar Sharma, Binod Hazarika, Chakradhar Gogoi, principal secretary of health and family welfare department Samir Sinha, NHM mission director J.V.N. Subramanyam and Assam Medical College principal Hiranya Kumar Goswami were also present at the programme.