Amit Shah Inaugurates First Phase Of Revamped Police Academy In Assam's Golaghat

Dergaon: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday inaugurated the first phase of the revamped police academy at Dergaon in the Golaghat district. He also laid the foundation stone for the next phase. After the inauguration, Shah was apprised of the facilities at the 'Lachit Barphukan Police Academy' by Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Harmeet Singh.

Shah then took a tour of the building, where senior officials also clicked photographs with the home minister. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, among others. Shah arrived in Dergaon on Friday evening for a three-day tour of Assam and Mizoram.

Shah said that while Assam was known for movements, violence and insurgency earlier, it is now having the most technologically sophisticated industry - the Semiconductor.

Shah while appreciating the development works undertaken in the last ten years in Assam, said that days are not far when youths from other parts of the country will come to Assam searching for employment.

"Earlier people used to say that if students from Assam study well, they will go elsewhere in the country to work. But with the investment that already came to Assam during the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit, I can see youths from other parts of the country coming to Assam. Looking for jobs," said Shah.

He said that this police academy is going to become no one among all the police academies in the country in the next five years. He said that the fame of the great Ahom general was limited to Assam alone earlier. "I was taught about Lachit Borphukan when I was seven-year-old kid. However, by the time I completed my graduation, I forgot about him. There was no mention of him in any books related to any course. But today, the biography of Lachit Borphukan is translated and available in 23 languages, which are available in all the libraries in the country," said Shah while addressing a massive rally after the inauguration of the first phase of the Police Academy.

Crediting Himanta Biswa Sarma for naming the academy after Lachit Borphukan, Shah said the translated books on the great Ahom general is now encouraging people in different parts of the country. The first phase of the academy was built at the cost of Rs. 166 crore and the completion of the other two phases, to be built at an approximate cost of Rs. 1000 crore, will make it one of the best police academies in the country.

Highlighting the development in Assam in the last eight years, Shah said that while the police from Assam used to go to other states earlier for training, now the Lachit Borphukan police Academy has trained police from Manipur and Goa.

Spread over 340 acres, the academy is being refurbished at an estimated cost of Rs 1,024 crore in two phases, officials said. The Rs 167.4-crore first phase includes a five-story building housing smart classrooms, weapon stimulator, research labs and administrative offices, among other facilities, besides a museum and a modern parade ground.

"This modern infrastructure is designed to give the trainees both theoretical and practical aspects of police training seamlessly," an official said. The weapon training stimulator will help in preparing law enforcement personnel for real-world combat scenarios in a completely safe environment without involving risks, hazards and costs, he said.

The stimulator can be adapted to a number of firearms to impart basic training, hone firing skills and test the skill level of the trainees. It is aimed at training recruits for special courses as well as in commando training, the official said.

The smart classrooms will feature interactive digital boards and personal computers. The building will also have a library, computer labs and seminar rooms. A museum and a modern parade ground have also been constructed as part of the first phase, the official said.

Housing infrastructure at the academy is proposed to be developed in the second phase at a cost of Rs 425.48 crore. It will provide residential quarters for 240 families, hostels for 312 officers/ personnel and 2,640 trainees, he added.