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GUWAHATI: A life-size statue of Sahityarathi Laxminath Bezbarua will be installed in the living house of the literary stalwart at Odisha's Sambalpur.
This decision was taken after the District Collector of Sambalpur, Ananya Das, Commissioner of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation, Pradeep Kumar Sahoo, and chief adviser of the Sahityarathi Laxminath Bezbarua Smriti Raksha Samiti, Dipak Kumar Panda, visited the living house to oversee the renovation and conservation works going on in the house. Back in 2017, the advisor of the Sahityarathi Laxminath Bezbarua Smriti Raksha Samiti, Dr Basanta Kumar Bhuyan had come forward to donate a life-size statue of Laxminath Bezbarua if such a decision was taken. Now when it has been decided to install a life-size statue of Laxminath Bezbarua in his Sambalpur living house, Dr Bhuyan will be donating this statue.
In addition, the local administration of Sambalpur also proposed building a park in front of the living house. For this if land is needed, the Odisha government would donate land for the purpose.
Laxminath Bezbarua had two houses in Sambalpur - a Sadhana Griha (reading room) and a living house. For years, both houses were lying in a neglected state. Various organizations - of Assam and Odisha- urged for steps to conserve the two houses. Finally, during the rule of the Sarbananda Sonowal government, initiative was taken for the renovation and preservation of both houses. Renovation work of the Sadhana Griha has been completed and the house has been handed over to the Cultural Department, Government of Odisha.
Intach (Indian National Trust of Art and Cultural Heritage) has been entrusted with the renovation work of both the reading room and the living house. Intach had proposed a Rs 2-crore project for this. The Government of Assam allotted Rs 50 lakh for the renovation and conservation of the houses and the Odisha government allotted Rs 55 lakh.
Almost Rs 79 lakh was spent in the renovation work of the reading room. With the remaining Rs 26 lakh out of the Rs 1 crore allotted by both state governments, renovation work of the living house has been started.
Talking to The Sentinel, Sahityarathi Laxminath Bezbarua Smriti Raksha Samiti general secretary Rantu Deka said, "We appeal to the Assam Government to release the remaining Rs 50 lakh of the Rs 1 crore that the government had promised to allot for this project."
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