GUWAHATI, Oct 29 - A number of eminent personalities of the State today moved the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for preservation of the Sambalpur residence of litterateur and Assamese national icon Lakshminath Bezbaroa.
In a memorandum addressed to Patnaik, they said that the move of the Odisha government to dismantle the old residence of Bezbaroa would be a great tragedy for Assam. The signatories called for its preservation not just as a memorial of Bezbaroa, but also as an enduring symbol of Assam-Odisha friendship and solidarity.
�The destruction of the house will, therefore, be felt as a great tragedy in Assam. The house can serve not only as a memorial for Assam and attract tourists from there, but also stand as an emblem of Assam-Odisha friendship. We earnestly beg you to intervene in the matter and order the re-alignment of the road to save the heritage building. The people of Assam will remember you gratefully in the countless years ahead for this noble gesture,� the memorandum said.
Bezbaroa was also a respected and leading member of the local society at Sambalpur and rendered yeoman�s service to the welfare and betterment of the townsfolk, and there are ample records to prove it, it added.
Expressing their �dismay and distress� over the move to dismantle the residence of Bezbaroa � the beloved and revered national icon of Assam and the doyen of modern Assamese literature, the
memorandum said that owing to unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances, very few of the relics of the life of the great son of Assam had survived.
The signatories included the former Vice-Chancellor of Gauhati University Prof Nirmal Kumar Choudhury, writer and critic Dr Hiren Gohain, writer and veteran journalist Homen Borgohain, editor of The Assam Tribune Prafulla Govinda Baruah, editor of Dainik Agradoot Kanak Sen Deka, writers Nirupoma Borgohain, Dr Nagen Saikia and Dr Lakshmi Nandan Bora, filmmaker Santwana Bardoloi, and Prof Alak Kumar Buragohain, Vice-Chancellor of Dibrugarh University.
