The Bezbaruah Committee, which was constituted to look into the welfare of Northeast people, visited Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai to interact with the Northeast people and take a stock of their problems.
Members of the Bezbaruah Committee held meetings with representatives of the North-East community in a process to look at their concerns.
Headed by M P Bezbaruah, a retired IAS officer, the committee was constituted by the Centre to examine various concerns of the people from Northeast living in different parts of the country.
The committee, mandated to suggest suitable remedial measures, is in the final process of talking to all the stakeholders to take their view. It will submit an interim report to the government on July 7.
"We are going to ask the state government to institute Northeast related cells at the police station level as well as at police headquarters so that no such case will go unnoticed or unheard of. We are going to request the government to designate senior level police officers, of the rank of IGP or Additional DGP to handle all such northeast related cases," said H.T. Sangliana, a member of the Committee.
"I think it is a good start, a good step that the government has taken. I think it is quite encouraging and very positive. I am personally very hopeful that this will lead to some helpful steps. But I think like one of the leaders there said; it takes two hands to clap. Some think both the Northeast community and the government will have to act together, very proactively," said Dr. Atola Longkumar.
The members of the Committee had earlier met the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi.
The minister laid stress on greater integration of the Northeast with the rest of the country through telecom, digital, radio and TV connectivity.
The discussions in the meeting included recommendations for promoting northeast as a filming destination and featuring films from the Northeast in various film festivals.
The Committee head, M.P. Bezbaruah said the primary objective is to create connectivity physically and in mindset of the northeast with the other areas of the country.
He further said, "We have to sensitize people of the metropolitan cities, particularly, the people who are middle class or lower middle class and with whom our people come in contact. It is important to sensitize them about the rich culture of northeast and the difference that northeast has in terms of ethnicity and physical looks, which should not stand in the way of integration of the northeast people with the rest of the country."
The Committee had also met Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and apprised him of the progress.
The government is serious about providing a safe and better atmosphere to the people from Northeastern states living in metro cities across the country.
