Kokrajhar, Feb. 8: Preparations are on in full swing for holding the 35th annual conference of the All-Bodo Students? Union (Absu) at Banargaon, five km west of Kokrajhar, from February 14 to 16.
Nearly 30 volunteers from the nearby 57 villages under the Banargaon unit of the Absu are rendering voluntary service to make the meet a success. Seventy per cent of the work has already been completed. A 23-member sub-committee has been floated to chalk out and implement the programme.
Talking to The Telegraph, Absu president Rabiram Narzary said the focus was on efforts to bring about unity and harmony among the neighbouring communities and the Bodos. Elaborate discussions would be held to find out a solution to the linguistic, socio-economic and political problems of the Bodos through this conference.
The 600-acre field where the conference will be held is named ?Maidangshrinwgwr?, meaning ?land of Goddess Lakshmi?, as the area is very fertile. The main pandal has been named after former Absu president Jwhwlao Swmbla Basumatary, who was gunned down by militants. It can accommodate more than 15,000 delegates.
The delegates? hall has been named Bagdat Jwhwlao Khwrwmkhang Boro.
?We are expecting nearly 10,000 delegates from 23 districts of the state. At least 30,000 visitors are likely to come everyday,? Dushmanta Basumatary, working president of the organising committee, told The Telegraph.
Along with the conference, the 35th foundation day of the Absu will also be observed by the union on February 15, the second day of the meet. Along with the conference, an exhibition-cum-book fair, games and sports, literary and cultural competitions along with a variety of demonstrations have also been organised, Basumatary said.
A special attraction of the exhibition will include sculptures and works of art by artists of Santiniketan and Calcutta. Students from Korea, Thailand, Japan and Greece, studying fine arts and sculpture at the institute, have confirmed their participation.
Moreover, a career counselling camp by Absu and Lafashaiko Social Service Activity is also being organised for the benefit of rural students, organising committee secretary Maneswar Basumatary said.
The book fair will have 126 publishing houses from Calcutta, Guwahati and other places. The aim is to encourage the reading habit among rural students.
At least 500 cultural teams from different communities, including a team of 100 girls from Dotoma who will perform a Bodo traditional dance, will take part in the third conference. The exhibition-cum-book fair will be inaugurated by state revenue minister Mithias Tudu.
A seminar on the topic ? ?Ethnocentric movement and its manifold aspects in the political and social life of Assam? ? will be held.
A souvenir, Alaishri Jahar, with articles in four languages including Bodo, English, Assamese and Bengali, will also be released on the occasion.