The Assam government has introduced a ‘newsletter’ to directly engage with the citizens and give them direct information about the schemes and initiatives taken by the state.
Union home minister Amit Shah unveiled the first edition of the 16-page newsletter called Asom Barta on May 10 in presence of Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and others. The release coincided with the first anniversary of the present government in the state.
“The newsletter will enable the people of Assam to stay connected to their government and its policies,” a statement released on behalf of the government said.
Titled Asom Barta (Voice of Assam), the newsletter, will update readers about the latest programmes and policies of the state government. Citizens, intellectuals, and freelance journalists will have the opportunity to provide constructive suggestions to the Government of Assam through the newsletter, the statement added.
“The Government of Assam is committed to ensure widespread reach of Asom Barta. In the first phase, the target is to reach one crore readers via various modern technologies such as WhatsApp, Telegram, E-mail, SMS and with other social media platforms. Over 10,000 hard copies of Asom Barta will be printed and delivered on a periodic basis to all state government offices at the district & block level and to eminent citizens across the country,” the statement added.
Other members of the editorial board consist of Wasbir Hussain, Anuradha Sarma Pujari, Gurmail Singh, and Bijay Sankar Bora.
“The first edition is an anniversary special. It has 16 pages. Asom Barta will be printed in four languages – Assamese, English, and Hindi to start with,” DIPR director and editor-in-chief of the publication Bishnu Kamal Bora said.
Bora added that in due course it will be published in Bengali and other regional languages of Assam.
