GUWAHATI, June 29 - Assam government has accorded sanction to release Rs 50 lakh to preserve Lakshminath Bezbaroa�s house at Odisha�s Sambalpur. It has also decided to purchase Dr Bhupen Hazarika�s Kolkata house at a cost of Rs 1.65 crore.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today gave his assent to the State government�s efforts in preserving the house. A communiqu� has also been dashed off to the Government of Odisha to this effect which also stated that the Government of Assam is ready to bear any additional expenditure for the preservation of the heritage house at Sambalpur, a statement from the CMO said.
It may be noted that under the instruction of the Chief Minister, a State government team led by Cultural Affairs Minister Naba Kumar Doley and Chief Minister�s Media Advisor Hrishikesh Goswami visited Odisha and met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with Cultural Affairs Minister Ashok Kumar Panda and the Chief Secretary on October 31 last year. They also signed an agreement with the Deputy Commissioner of Sambalpur in presence of a few eminent personalities belonging to culture and journalists.
Chief Minister Sonowal also talked to his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik over phone and sought the Odisha government�s support to preserve the house. In view of the requests of Sonowal and considering the inherent emotions of the people of Assam associated with the house, the Odisha government has already put its stamp of approval for the preservation of the house.
To take the work to its logical conclusion, Assam government is all set to release
Rs 50 lakh. It has also stated that any additional amount required for the purpose would also be sent to the Government of Odisha.
Meanwhile, the government�s intention of acquiring the house of Dr Bhupen Hazarika at Tollygunge in Kolkata seems to have progressed well in the right direction. Cultural Affairs Minister Naba Kumar Doley and Chief Minister�s Media Advisor on November 1 last year held a discussion with the owner of the house Sushil Kumar Dangi at Assam House, Kolkata. An agreement was also signed with the owner at Guwahati for transfer of possession of the house. The proposal would be introduced in the State Cabinet for its approval to acquire the Dr Bhupen Hazarika�s house by the Government of Assam.
Commissioner & Secretary, Cultural Affairs, Preetom Saikia told The Assam Tribune that the owner of Dr Hazarika�s Tollygunge house has �in principle� agreed to sell the property to Assam government. The property will be purchased at a cost of Rs 1.65 crore.
�The formalities are being done now. We hope the handover process would be completed in a month�s time. Thereafter, we will form an expert group to draw up a plan to preserve the house,� Saikia added.
