In an innovative step to encourage the youth, a 10th standard boy was made collector for a day by the Sivasagar district administration.
Bhagyadeep Rajgarh, a promising student of Class 10 belonging to Deoriting Tea Estate in the remote Bokota area of Sivasagar district, was designated as Honorary District Commissioner of Sivasagar district for a day on 31 July.
Thus, he has become the youngest ever District Commissioner of Assam, even if for a day.
This happened after 2010 batch IAS officer and District Commissioner of Sivasagar invited Bhagyadeep and paved the way for him to become DC for a day. The officer also called the boy an inspiration for many.
Bhagyadeep Rajgarh told media, “I don’t have words to express my feeling. Never in my wildest dream did I ever think that I shall be the administrative head of a district. I chaired a meeting of all the department heads of the district including the forest and education departments.”
Bhagyadeep, continue to study hard and you can even become Assam’s Chief Secretary !
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 1, 2023
Through Project Arohan, we mentor students from the tea garden & other under privileged communities to take up successful career paths. https://t.co/enhZLmbZdC
He also added, “I had the opportunity to see how an IAS officer executes his duties from close quarter. I took the opportunity to inform about the shortcomings in our school, Bakta Barbam Higher Secondary School, and our village. Sir assured me that he will fulfill my wish.”
While the DC said, “He has pursued his studies against all odds and is an intelligent student. He intends to be a bureaucrat in the future. Many students from hinterland cherish such dreams. They need opportunities to live these dreams.”
Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, also lauded the boy and DC for this. He tweeted, “Bhagyadeep, continue to study hard and you can even become Assam’s Chief Secretaryz! Through Project Arohan, we mentor students from the tea garden & other under privileged communities to take up successful career paths.”
Bhagyadeep hails from a tea garden of Assam, and he was escorted to his one-day office by DC Yadav from his residence.
On his job hours today, the young DC took part in a meeting that lasted for five hours. He also wishes to train people in football if he gets a chance to be an administrative officer.
Bhagyadeep was a beneficiary of the Assam Government’s innovative scheme, AAROHAN.
Last June, Assam Cabinet had approved the AROHAN scheme to provide guidance to students and improve the skills of at least 8,750 students of Class IX with innate talents for four years up to Class XII.
These students were to be selected from Government provincialized schools and would be continuously mentored by select persons. AAROHAN identifies talented students from the remote, rural and poor families for the mentoring and monitoring of their academic career. A web portal on AAROHAN has already been launched.
In a similar instance, the daughter of a farm labourer, M. Sravani, 16, assumed the office of Anantapur District Collector and it was a dream come true for the senior Intermediate student of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) Garladinne. She was named ‘One-Day Collector’ as part of the International Day of Girls celebrations.