Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma urges people not to harass business owners in the name of donation

As the state of Assam along with the rest of India is marching ahead to welcome Maa Durga in a much bigger way than the previous year due to the COVID-19 restrictions, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appeals masses to "shun the culture of donations".

Taking to his micro-blogging site Twitter, Assam Chief Minister wrote, "Let’s Shun Culture of Donations! My request to all: let's put a full stop to the chanda culture in Assam this Puja festivities. Let's stop harassing business owners, big or small, by collecting money in name of Puja donations. Let’s get rid of donation culture, once & for all."

It is to be mentioned here that in the yester years there were many complaints and concerns from the business community of the state that student bodies along with clubs and local associations demanded money in the name of conducting puja or Bihu functions in their respective localities.

Further, it was alleged that locals often demanded abrupt amounts of money which at times becomes difficult for the business owners to fulfil.

Notably, CM Sarma has been against the forcible collection of donations right from assuming his office. 

"The government will not be a mute spectator when organizations collect donations from businessmen forcibly. The government is now firm to bring a bill to the Assembly to this effect. We will treat the forcible collection of money as an organized crime. We will keep a provision in the bill to make organizations cough up forcibly collected donations.

"We want to create an ambience in the state where investors won't have to face the menace of donations anymore. Assam has earned the dubious distinction among the investors for forcible donations," the Chief Minister had said earlier.

A section of organizations, including students' bodies, collecting donations from traders and businessmen has been an age-old practice in the state. Many traders yield to the demands of the organizations.

"The browbeaten donors should lodge complaints with the police. They, however, keep mum. We take action when we get complaints. We appeal to the businessmen to come forward to lodge complaints with the police when they face such situations," a senior police official said. 

Notably, the Chief Minister earlier requested Bihu organisers not to force businesses to donate money. 

Further, the state government has also announced a grant of Rs 1.5 lakh to Bihu committees that are over 10 years old and to hold Bihu functions in the first week of Bohag month.

Hailing chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for clamping down on illegal Chanda collection in the state, the Assam Real Estate & Infrastructure Developers' Association (AREIDA) urged the chief minister to set up a dedicated helpline for reporting such extortion cases in the state.