A team of 16 defence officers from India and four foreign countries visited the Goalpara district of Assam as part of a socio-political study tour on Monday.
The defence team has come from the National Defence College (NDC) under the union defence ministry.
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The team is headed by Air Marshall D Choudhury, commandant of NDC along with Brigadier Vipul Shinghai, secretary of the NDC.
Foreign defence officers from four countries – America, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Bhutan – were part of the Assam tour.
“We have come to see the socio-political development taking places in the state, the challenges and how are the schemes being implemented. This gives us an on-ground exposure,” said D Choudhury.
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Citing reasons behind selecting Goalpara district for the study, Air Marshall Choudhury said, “This is one of the districts doing great development, so we selected to visit it.”
During their tour, the defence officers visited the 24 No Budhipara Anganwadi state model centre near Agia College and interacted with the children at the centre.
The scenic beauty of the artistically painted centre, conservation and recycling of rainwater, modern baby toilets, building and the learning materials impressed the visiting team.
As a mark of appreciation, the defence team gifted a token of memory to the anganwadi worker concerned in the presence of the centre in-charge, CDPO, Nileswar Ray.
The team also shared light breakfast with the children and gifted chocolates to them.
Deben Bhuyan, a social welfare officer, appraised the visitors of the operating mechanism of the anganwadi centres in the state.
The Baladmari high school was the second destination for the visitors where they interacted with students as well as the teachers and exchanged views on education.
Prior to leaving the district, the defence officers interacted with the district officers of various departments in a meeting hosted by deputy commissioner Varnali Deka in the conference hall of her office.
Talking to Northeast Now about their Assam visit, Col. Paul Meaghre, USA Marine Corps said, “Very pleased to see the efficiency at the state and district level, how they met the challenges and addressed the problems elegantly and professionally. The district (Goalpara) is also beautiful.”
Six brigadiers, three commanders, three colonels, one IAS and IPS officer each besides Air Marshall D Choudhury were part of the visiting team.
In coming days, the team will visit Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Dhemaji districts.