Union Minister Sonowal urges youth to conserve ‘Oil City of Assam’

DOOM DOOMA : Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbanand Sonowal has urged youths to make all-out efforts to conserve Dibgoi, known as the ‘Oil City of Assam’.

He was speaking at Padadhwani 3.0, the Digboi Town Fest, organised by Nava Asom Nirman Foundation at Paragdhar Chaliha Auditorium in Digboi in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district.

The Union Minister said, “We can together contribute towards nation-building with dedicated effort and hard work.”

Sonowal also attended the closing ceremony of the silver jubilee celebrations of Makum College in Tinsukia along with Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Dibrugarh MP Rameshwar Teli and State Labour Minister Sanjoy Kishan.

“I urged the youths to take responsibility in conserving the pristine natural beauty and the rich biodiversity of Digboi town,” Sonowal said.

“Schools and colleges are the temples of knowledge. Their contribution is instrumental in giving shape to the character of the students. The youth should focus on capacity building and equip themselves with skills for contributing towards building a better India,” he added.

Digboi is known as the ‘Oil City of Assam’ where the first oil well in Asia was drilled. The town attracts thousands of tourists from across the world every year.

The town is located 500 kilometers from Guwahati and 55 kilometers from Tinsukia.

The town got its name from the phrase “dig-boy-dig “. The town’s history begins in 1867 when a small group of men from the Assam Railway and Trading Co. found their elephants’ legs soaked in black mud, that smelled somewhat like oil. In 1889 the British started a small oil installation. In 1901, India (and Asia) obtained its first refinery in Digboi. Now, it has the distinction of being India’s oldest oil-producing field.

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