GUWAHATI: The Assam government is seeking to expedite its plan for installation of a 125-feet tall statue of the iconic 16th century Ahom General Lachit Barphukan at Jorhat’s Lahdoigarh.
On Monday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took stock of the progress made physically towards making the statue of Barphukan a reality soon. The CM held a meeting with the engineers of the construction agency entrusted with the work, asking them to complete the construction by the end of 2024.
With the entire complex area being demarcated, Sarma asked the Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Pulak Mahanta to organize the planting of saplings all around the inside of the boundary walls.
The Chief Minister instructed Mahanta to start the plantation drive on October 2, a day when the state government will be implementing a programme of planting one crore saplings, keeping in mind the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
Sarma also asked the agency executing the work to ensure that proper quality of work is maintained and beauty of the place ensured so that the entire complex could become one of the major tourism destinations in the state, attracting tourists.
Last year, on the occasion of the 400th birth anniversary of Barphukan, the state government celebrated it on a large scale.
The state govt also organised a four-day long event in the national capital of New Delhi, in an effort to showcase the bravery of this 16th century Ahom General of Assam to the country at large.
The state govt had also organised essay competitions on Barphukan and CM Sarma had appealed for entries. Nearly 4.3 million handwritten essays were submitted by students, government employees and others, by doing so creating the Guinness World Records for the largest compilation of online photo album of handwritten articles.
Although the state government received more than 5.7 million essays submitted on Borphukan, only handwritten essays were counted for the Guinness World Record, bringing down the number to 4.3 million.
Brave heart Lachit Barphukan is credited with chasing out the invading Mughal army by utilising his superior knowledge of naval warfare and defensive strategies, which paid dividends for the Ahom forces. This ensured that his name remained forever ingrained in the collective consciousness of the people of Assam.
There are several statues of Lachit Barphukan in Guwahati and elsewhere in Assam but the latest move to install a 125 feet tall statue will go long way in providing the people of the state as well as visitors a proper perspective of the great Ahom general to ‘look up’ to.
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