TURA, Sept 20 - The celebration of 150 years of Tura, the second largest town in Meghalaya, will be held in the second week of December this year.
This was decided in a steering committee meeting held in the DRDA Hall here today. The meeting also discussed renaming of certain localities and landmarks of the town.
The celebration was initially scheduled for December 1, 2017, but it failed to materialise due to different reasons, including transfer of district administration officials for the Assembly polls in the State in 2018.
An elaborate plan has been drawn up for the celebration, which will be organised on a grand scale as desired by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Tura Lok Sabha member Agatha Sangma and North Tura MLA and Adviser to the Chief Minister Thomas A Sangma.
Chairing the meeting, West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh said that Tura completing 150 years of its existence itself was an achievement and an event of sorts, and called for a befitting celebration in recognition and as tribute to all those who have contributed to development of the town.
Going down the memory lane, Singh said that people told him how Tura used to be cleaner and greener till a few years ago and rued the negative side of rapid urbanisation. He stressed the need of highlighting the past glory and pristine nature of the town during the celebration.
Welcoming the proposal for changing the names of certain localities associated with diseases, he said the names should reflect the culture and ethos of the community and must be relevant to the contemporary society.
The DC, however, added that consensus must be reached before renaming any place.
LR Sangma, former Deputy Commissioner of Tura, suggested that a painting competition should be organised by the Art and Culture Department as a part of the celebration.
Participating in the discussion, Sangra A Sangma, professor of Don Bosco College, Tura, shared his views on holding seminars and other intellectual activities like debates on themes relevant to the celebration in schools and colleges of the town.
He also suggested a theme, �Tura together, we can make a difference� for the celebration. David Ch Marak, president of New Tura Development Forum, said that the celebration should reflect the past, present and future of the town.
The meeting decided to draw up a calendar of programmes within a week. The celebration will culminate with the Tura Winter Festival in December.
