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Hawamahal � the heritage building of Gauripur in a dilapidated state

By AMBU NATH SHARMA

GAURIPUR, Sept 12 - Hawamahal, the two-storeyed heritage building of the Royal family of the Zamindary Estate of Gauripur built by Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua, the foster son of Raja Pratap Chandra Barua, the founder Zaminder of Gauripur Zamindary Estate in 1914 and situated on a hillock surrounded by the Gadadhar river in the north-eastern direction of Gauripur town at Matiabag is presently in a dilapidated state.

Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua started construction of the building in 1904 with the help of Chinese architects and the construction was completed in 1914. The Hawamahal was so beautiful and the scenery of the area so pleasant that the zamindar resided in the building with his family during the summer season and therefore the building was named �Hawamahal�.

After his death, his elder son Raja Prakritish Chandra Barua (Lalji) used to live there and managed the affairs of the Zamindary Estate and before his death, he handed over the charge of the building to his sons Pradip Barua, Prabir Coomer Barua, Pradyut Kumar Barua and Dr Pritam Barua. They are presently the heirs of the Hawamahal.

Since pre-independence time, Hawamahal was the centre for cultural activities. Famous cine actor Uttam Kumar visited the Hawamahal and appreciated the zamindar for his patronage of culture and literature. Famous film maker Pramathesh Chandra Barua, folk singer Pratima Barua Pandey, elephant expert Parbati Barua had all lived there. Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika and his wife Priyam Hazarika had also visited the Hawamahal in 1955 and stayed there for a month.

During the first tenure of Chief Ministership of Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, an attempt was made to take over the entire area and to declare it as a tourist spot, but that did not happen.

Presently, the State government has started the Assam Darshan scheme to develop the historically important places of the State and in order to implement the scheme, more than Rs two crore has been sanctioned to develop the Hawamahal area and in order to execute the scheme, a road is under construction in the Matiabag area. Enlightened people here feel that construction of a road in the area is meaningless until the Hawamahal is taken over by the government and declared as a tourist spot.

They have also urged the State government to initiate discussions with the owners of the Hawamahal and undertake measures for renovation of the building immediately as otherwise the building may collapse within a year or two and will vanish from the socio-cultural map of the State.

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