Urgent Relief: State Sends 1.6L Free Textbooks to 3 Flood-Hit Districts
Guwahati: Education Minister Ranoj Pegu on Thursday flagged off seven trucks from the Assam State Textbook Production and Publication Corporation Ltd (ASTPPC) warehouse at Bonda, sending 1.61 lakh textbooks to flood-affected students in Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat districts. The dispatch is part of a free textbook distribution drive aimed at restoring learning resources disrupted by recent floods.
Pegu said more than 1.5 lakh students live across the three districts, of whom about 1.12 lakh have been affected by the floods. Authorities estimate roughly nine lakh textbooks will be required to meet the needs of all students in the area.
“In the first phase, 15% of the required textbooks (1.61 lakh) have been dispatched by truck. The remaining textbooks will be sent in phases. The district administrations have been requested to receive the textbooks, store them in safe locations, and, as soon as the situation returns to normal, distribute them to the students in an organized manner under their supervision,” Pegu said.
The minister added that some titles will need to be reprinted and that orders for these reprints have already been placed. “The books will be printed on a war footing and supplied to students as quickly as possible. This arrangement applies to all textbooks from Class Ka to Class XII,” he said.
Acting on directions from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the ASTPPC has expedited the printing process to speed up distribution. Officials stressed that textbooks will be released in phases and stored safely at the district level until conditions permit organized handover to students, helping minimise further disruption to the academic calendar.
Original Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/state-launches-free-textbook-distribution-drive-1-6l-sent-to-3-flood-hit-dists/articleshow/132748562.cms
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Publish Date: 2026-07-30 23:58:00