Seven educated youths from Dharapur Dhopartal under Azara Revenue Circle in the western part of Guwahati and Jalukbari Assembly constituency have set a rare example that no work is small or big, and that educated youths can take up farming if they wish. The youths are Rinku Kalita, Chandan Kalita, Bipul Kalita, Jitu Kalita, Dhruva Kalita, Chatu Kalita, and Kalyan Kalita.
For the past three months, these seven youths have been cultivating land at Rani Chapori, a well-known agricultural area located in the middle of the Brahmaputra between Dharapur and Bhattapara, a little distance from their homes. They hired a tractor to plough 40 bighas of land and make it suitable for cultivation, and have started various crops on it.
Currently, they have been cultivating seasonal crops on 20 bighas for the past three to four months. Besides becoming self-reliant, they have also set an example for other educated youths. The group said they are presently cultivating red gourd on 6 bighas, okra on 5 bighas, lai xaak and coriander on 3 bighas, red amaranth, khutura xaak and taro stems on 5 bighas, and spinach on 1 bigha. They have already started earning by selling the vegetables.
In the first week of March, they jointly hired a tractor and began ploughing 40 bighas of fallow land at Rani Chapori, also known as Char Nehali. In the first phase, they have made 20 bighas cultivable. After ploughing with the tractor, they had to level the land themselves like bullocks pulling a harrow. They regularly travel by boat to Rani Chapori in the morning and return home before evening.
They said they plan to cultivate potatoes, mustard, cauliflower, and other seasonal crops on the remaining 20 bighas after the monsoon.
Notably, after completing their degrees, they were engaged in small businesses with their families. But with the aim of running their households smoothly, they took up agriculture. They said the income from farming on the 20 bighas has now given them some financial relief.
During Magh Bihu in 2025, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma had visited the Rani Chapori agricultural area and announced that land pattas would be given to over four hundred farmers cultivating there. Following that announcement, the Azara Revenue Circle had allotted land pattas to many farmers before the last Assembly elections at a premium of just ₹500 per bigha.
The seven youths said they now plan to form a registered agricultural farm and request local MLA and Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma to allot the 40 bighas they are cultivating in the name of the farm.
