Guwahati, Nov 5: In a significant move, the Assam cabinet has decided to reserve seats for students from the tea garden community in the medical colleges of the state.

This decision was announced by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after chairing the weekly cabinet meeting on November 4.

The decision has brought cheers for the students of the tea garden. Some of them expressed happiness after the decision.

The seats have been decided to be reserved for the tea garden community for MBBS and BDS Courses in the medical colleges of Assam.

“MBBS/BDS seats reserved for tea garden communities (have been) proportionately divided between Brahmaputra Valley and Barak Valley,” Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma informed.

A total of 24 MBBS seats and 3 BDS seats have been decided to be reserved for the tea garden community in Assam.

While a total of 18 MBBS seats have been reserved for the tea garden community from the Brahmaputra valley, another 6 have been reserved for Barak Valley.

On the other hand, out of the 3 BDS seats that have been reserved for the tea garden community, 2 are for the Brahmaputra Valley, while one will be for the Barak Valley.

“We are happy after the decision and thanked the Assam government for reserving seats for the students of tea garden in medical colleges of the state. Recently, some of the students of the tea garden have brought laurels for the community in the Assam civil service examination. So, we are pretty sure that the students of the community will excel in medical studies,” said a leader of ATTSA.