Amstrong Pame: Every Friday, this Manipur cadre IAS will have dinner with 10 students

DEPUTY commissioner of Manipur’s Tamenglong district and 2009 batch IAS Amstrong Pame has asked school authorities of his district to short-list students for having first-hand experiences of witnessing the functioning of the deputy commissioner’s office, apart from joining him at the dinner table once in a week at his official bungalow. According to a letter dated July 3 issued by his office, a group of 10 students ranging from Class V to X will be invited every Friday for dinner with DC. The letter further said how the students needed to be selected. First, here's the full text of the letter issued by the deputy commissioner’s office:

“Every Friday a group of 10 (Ten) students ranging from class V to X will be invited for a dinner along with the Deputy Commission at his Official Bungalow. Further, these selected students will also be given a chance to observe the working of District Administration during office hour (Post Lunch). Students shall be selected school-wise on rotation basis. They shall be given an opportunity to express their Dreams/Visions and shall also be asked to express their desire as how they wish to see the District in the future days to come. Separate letter shall be written to School Authority concerned to select the students”.

Hailing from the same district where he is now the deputy commissioner (deputy commissioner and district magistrate is the same post), Pame wrote in his Facebook post: “As a kid I used to walk past the DC bungalow and office…really wanted to see what’s there but never got to…now being here as DC let me invite the school kids to share a dinner table with me…hope this will give them a zeal to do well to live their dreams…”

A product of Delhi University’s St. Stephens college where he did B.Sc in physics, Pame has earlier served as assistant commissioner in Ukhrul district and sub-divisional officer in Senapati district — both inhabited by Nagas. Pame is the first IAS officer belonging to Zeme tribe of the Nagas.

Pame came into limelight five years ago when he initiated building a 100-km road linking Manipur with Nagaland and Assam, all with the funds raised from citizens. His family — his elder brother is a faculty member of Delhi University — donated about Rs 4 lakh for the purpose, according to media reports published then. Also, donation centres were set up in major cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Guwahati, Shillong etc. Even NRIs from USA, UK and Canada contributed for the Tamenglong-Haflong road project, often called People's Road.

After the IAS officer could raise Rs 40 lakh for the project in 2012 through his Facebook page, he was invited to Facebook headquarters in California, USA. He too received a number of awards for his innovative project.