SIVASAGAR, July 2 � Mission Green Sivasagar, an initiative of the Sivasagar district administration to boost tourism, in collaboration with various social and cultural organisations and the people of the town on Tuesday celebrated the Sivasagar Divas in a grand manner. It�s a first in Assam that the district-hood day was being celebrated.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who was the chief guest on the occasion, spoke on the beauty and richness of the cultural life of Sivasagar. �Culture binds people and this initiative by the Sivasagar district administration is a way forward in the direction of cultural integration and harmony,� he said.
�Sivasagar has been contributing immensely to every sphere of the State�s art, culture, literature or politics. The foundation of communal- harmony established by the Ahom Swargadeos has been spread in every nook and corner of Assam,� Gogoi said.
�Sivasagar has a uniqueness to attract everyone with its charm, and I take pride to have been bestowed by the love and affection of Sivasagar people when I contested Lok Sabha polls in 1971,� said Gogoi assuring Sivasagar Deputy Commissioner SS Meenakshi Sundaram all sorts of support from the government.
Inaugurating the open session, Asam Sahitya Sabha president Imran Shah said, �Culture of Sivasagar is a part and parcel of Assam�s heritage and everyone should make their efforts to forward this movement, initiated by the Sivasagar DC.�
Earlier, SS Meenakshi Sundaram delivering the welcome speech said, �On July 1, 1983, Sivasagar was declared a district in its present form after Jorhat and Golaghat subdivisions of the district were carved out from the undivided Sivasagar district and were made two separate districts.�
She said the objective of celebrating July 1 as the district-hood day was to highlight the tourism potential of the district and make the people feel proud and bring them together to preserve the rich heritage the district possesses.
To mark the occasion, four books, namely, Sivasagar Living Fossil � A Canvas of Change with Tradition, Database of Historical Sites of Sivasagar, Handbook of Development Schemes and Sivasagar Rengani were released by the Chief Minister, which was followed by the launching of new initiatives � �Seuj Sivasagar Nursery�, �Seuj Sivasagar Sangha� and �Sivasagar Soudh�.
The day began with plantation drives in 200 schools, a rally and a blood donation camp in which 30 jawans of the Joysagar army camp also took part voluntarily.
The programme was also attended by Cultural Affairs Minister Pranati Phukan, parliamentary secretaries Sarat Saikia and Etwa Munda, Thowra MLA Sushanta Borgohain, DIG, Eastern Range Satyen Gogoi, historian Rajen Gohain, former information commissioner Dr Birendra Nath Gohain, Arjun awardee Bhogeswar Baruah, �Shilpa Guru� Rebakanta Mahanta, Sivasagar Superintendent of Police Bijoy Kuligam and others.
