GUWAHATI, May 4 - The State Government wants to renovate and turn Dr Bhupen Hazarika�s residence in Kolkata into an archive and has therefore instructed the Director of Kolkata Assam Bhawan to pursue the matter of obtaining the ownership of the house from its current owner.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said this in a meeting with officials of Assam Bhawan at Kolkata, stated an official press release.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister also said that steps would be taken by the State government to erect a statue of State�s literary icon Lakshminath Bezbarua on the Assam Bhawan premises in Kolkata and directed the Chief Engineer of State PWD Department to inform him about the selected location for erecting the statue within the premises. He also instructed that ample open spaces should be left in front of the statue so that memorial meetings can be held there.
The Chief Minister also instructed that the Assam Bhawan in Kolkata must reflect the Assamese culture and tradition through its architecture and directed that highest standards must be maintained in the construction works of the Assam Bhawan.
Revenue should be generated by using the auditorium commercially and for that the Assam Bhawan must be built as a state-of-the-art venue for holding meetings, Sonowal said. He also directed the Chief Engineer of State PWD Department to construct a naamghar in the Bhawan premises and also instructed the Director of Assam Bhawan to take steps for obtaining the water supply connection from Kolkata Municipality Corporation, apart from its present deep well water supply system.
Moreover, the Chief Minister instructed to start a helpline and a web portal for the students coming for higher studies to Kolkata from Assam and patients who travel to Kolkata for treatment.
MLA Rituparna Barua, Director of Assam Bhawan at Kolkata Debashish Chakrabarti, Chief Engineer of State PWD Department and other officials were present in the meeting, the release added.