By Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati :  Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited the parents of ace sprinter Hima Das who won a gol​d ​in the women's 400 metre ​race at the IAAF World U​nder-​20 Championships ​in Tampere, Finland recently at her No. 3 Kandulimari village residence at Dhing in Nagaon district today and interacted with her parents Ranjit Das and Junali Das as well as other members of her family. The Chief Minister congratulated her parents on the success of their daughter in world sports and also felicitated them with a gamosa, sarai and citation. Sonowal discussed with her parents about Hima’s journey towards success. Hima’s father informed the Chief Minister about various facets of his daughter’s success story in the sporting world. Ranjit Das during the interaction requested the Chief Minister for steps to improve the condition of the library, Naamghar and playground of their village. The Chief Minister in response assured Das to extend all necessary support from the government in this regard. He asked the Nagaon Deputy Commission to immediately submit a proposal to the government for appropriate measures on the requests made by Das. Hima’s father also urged the Chief Minister to reopen the erstwhile police outpost at Sologuri, to which Sonowal directed Nagaon SP to take necessary steps for revival of the outpost. Lavishing high praise on Hima Das’ stunning success, Chief Minister Sonowal said that her achievement raised the stature of the Assamese people in the world. “Hima’s feat inspires the Indians and the gol​d ​won by her proves that hard work, commitment and sincerity are the cornerstones of success”, Sonowal said adding that her accomplishment would continue to inspire the young generation. The Chief Minister also informed Hima’s parents that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was very elated with her success and already expressed his sentiments at a public programme recently. Sonowal also observed the sprinter’s victory gave a renewed momentum to women empowerment in the country. Sonowal further informed that the state government would felicitate the sprint queen at a state level programme after her return to Assam. The Chief Minister also stated that Hima Das would be appointed as Sports Ambassador of Assam and a reward of Rs. 50 lakh would be provided to her as announced earlier. Chairman of Housefed and MLA Ranjeet Das and MLA Angoorlata Deka were also present with the Chief Minister during the interaction.