GUWAHATI, March 19 � Urging the State Government to protect the Jorhat town from unplanned development, public activist Prof Deven Dutta has said that the once-beautiful town � regarded as the State�s present cultural capital � was also replete with historical significances, being the last capital of the Ahom kingdom.
In a statement, Prof Dutta said that the ongoing so-called development process in the town had extracted a heavy toll on its natural heritage, with innumerable trees being ruthlessly cut down under the pretext of construction of drains and facilitating other �developmental activities.�
�The people are in the dark about the role of both the general administration and the Forest Department in this regard. The so-called development process has made a complete mockery of the town�s once-pristine surroundings. The historic Bhogdoi river and the Tarajan stream have all but vanished under the onslaught of unbridled encroachment and vandalism. The two maidams of king Purandar Singha and prince Kameswar Singha lie unpreserved and dilapidated while similar is the condition of several historic ponds such as the Bangal Pukhuri,� Prof Dutta said.
Prof Dutta said that the overall law and order in the town presented a situation of total chaos and anarchy, with the police working overtime to collect money from vehicles. The municipal authorities too were in a state of deep slumber, he said.
Prof Dutta also questioned the logic behind the installation of a �most absurd and bizarre� statue of the legendary Ahom general, Lachit Barphukan, on the bank of the Rajmao Pukhuri, which he said was a slap on the face of the entire Assamese community.
Lambasting the Government and political parties for the degeneration of the town, Prof Dutta said that the Chief Minister, the local MLA, representatives of other parties, especially the AGP, and the head of the Jorhat development authority were under an obligation to explain why the rot was being allowed to perpetuate in the historic town.
