A skill development centre set up to train tea tribe youth at Chikni in Kaliabor has remained closed for more than a decade, drawing attention to serious gaps in the implementation of welfare schemes meant for the community.
The centre was established by the Tea Tribes Welfare Department in 2013 with the aim of helping young people from tea garden areas gain basic skills that could improve their chances of employment. However, despite the stated purpose, the facility never became fully operational and has stayed locked for years.
The centre functioned only briefly after it was launched. According to official records, the responsibility of running the centre was handed over to a Guwahati-based non-government organisation, H.P. Institute of Insurance. Some training activities reportedly began, but these stopped within a few months. Since then, no further steps were taken to restart the programme, and the building has remained unused. 
“The skill development training centre was started in 2013 during the Congress government’s time and was handed over to an NGO to run it. In the beginning, the centre was running properly, but gradually it fell apart and finally shut down. The entire fault lies with the department, and the public has suffered because of this situation. The centre earlier had computers and other training equipment, but slowly all the computers and equipment went missing. The BJP government has failed to continue the skill development scheme that was started during the Congress government’s tenure,” a local resident said.
Over time, the condition of the centre has worsened. The building, whose foundation stone was laid in 2009 by then MP Dip Gogoi and former minister Prithvi Majhi, now shows signs of neglect. Doors and windows are broken, bushes have grown around the structure, and several items such as furniture, generators, refrigerators and other equipment are either damaged or missing.
