Assam Science and Technology and Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta and Assembly Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami laid the foundation stone of an innovation hub on the Jorhat Science Centre and Planetarium premises on Monday.
Addressing the gathering, Mahanta said the BJP-led government was according priority to popularize science among the upcoming generation and adults.
The proposed hub would cost around Rs 1.5 crore and will be first of its kind in Upper Assam and second in the state after Guwahati, Mahanta added.
Jorhat MLA and Speaker Goswami said he would always support such positive initiatives and try to extend whatever help needed to implement such projects.
The centre’s curator, Pranabjyoti Chetia, explaining about the hub, said the funding for the project would be equally borne by the science centre and the state government.
He said the project has been sanctioned under the Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Creativity And Engagement in Science (SPICES) of the National Council of Science Museums in collaboration with the state science and technology department.
“The aim of the hub is to provide a platform to youths and public so that they can develop their scientific ideas and thoughts and turn them into innovations,” Chetia said.
The science centre, under the Assam Science Technology and Environment Council of the state science and technology department, is the only of its kind in Upper Assam. It was established on July 6, 2013.
