Bhava Kanta Saikia, the first secretary of the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) and a noted writer, passed away Thursday in the US, his family here said. He was 92.
He is survived by his wife, a son and three daughters. Saikia had joined the public sector undertaking ASEB as its first secretary in 1958 and served the board for 23 years till his retirement in 1981.

He had authored two books in English "Black is Beautiful" and "Brown Star" on the achievements and contributions of the Afro-American and the Indian communities in the US.

Saikia had also written a collection of Assamese poems "Sunor Sophura", Assamese  books on 16th century religious and social reformers Sri Sri Sankar Deb and Sri Sri Madhab Deb besides one on the childhood of Lord Krishna named "Oisana Mohana Balagopala".

An engineering alumnus of the Benaras Hindu University as well as Yale and Columbia universities, he had associations with with scientist Albert Einstein and later American president Dwight D. Eisenhower, a family source said.

Prior to his ASEB appointment, Saikia was involved in the construction of the Bhakra Nangal dam project in Punjab in the early fifties. He moved to the US in 1991.

The funeral will take place in the US Jan 12.