GUWAHATI, Oct 1 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will hoist the national flag at the Gandhi Mandap here tomorrow at 8.30 am in presence of Industry Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary.
The flag will be a main attraction of the Gandhi Mandap, a major tourist spot in Guwahati, because of its height (80 feet) and width (120 feet). The 312-foot flag pole is made of high-strength steel and weighs around 46,000 kilograms. The project that was started in April this year, cost approximately Rs 2.91 crore.
The flag was earlier scheduled to be formally inaugurated on August 15 on the occasion of Independence Day, but the flood in upper Assam and incessant rainfall in Guwahati delayed the work. On the other hand, the �Refurbishment of Gandhi Mandap� project supposed to be implemented under the Guwahati Smart City Limited (GSCL) is yet to be completed even though it was targeted to be so within October 2, informed official sources.
GSCL managing director Siddhartha Singh said, �The work is in progress. Hope it will be complete within October.�
Meanwhile, as part of developing the Gandhi Mandap and to make it an attractive tourist destination of Guwahati, the Kamrup (Metro) district administration had decided to carry out an eviction drive along the approach road to the monument. But till now no such drive has been carried out.