Dhubri enthusiasts take Heritage Walk to explore town's rich past

A Correspondent

DHUBRI: A group comprising of 40 heritage enthusiasts from Dhubri town started off their day on Sunday with the Heritage Walk that covered the important built heritage buildings of the town. This was a third successful walk to generate awareness about the existing rich heritage of Dhubri town through the heritage trail. It was organized by Sahapedia, India Heritage Walks in collaboration with the District Museum, Dhubri.

The 2-km walk begun from the Victoria Statue Park at Tetultola, a marble statue measuring 20 feet in height installed by the British rulers in 1905 against the backdrop of the Bengal Partition, and covered 15 destinations of historical importance.

Bijoy Kumar Sharma of Dhubri led the walk. He has been very instrumental in creating awareness and safeguarding and protecting the heritage buildings of Dhubri town since long.

The Meteorological Tower on the bank of the Brahmaputra was built by the British in the 17th century to assess the weather and climate resources, Sharma told the group as they walked through the 200-year old tower. The Heritage Walk will help in bringing visitors from across the State, country and the world to Dhubri as tourists, Sharma further added.

Talking to The Sentinel, Dhubri District Museum Officer Mrinmoy Das said that the Heritage Walk of Dhubri town on the same day shared a common platform with eight other heritage walks held across the country by India Heritage Walks, Sahapedia, New Delhi.

"It is a matter of gratification that the importance of Dhubri town as a rich heritage centre has been recognized on a national platform. The India Heritage Walks, a unit of Sahapedia, New Delhi conducts heritage trails in various places across the country with an aim to encourage citizens to explore the monuments and places rich in history, art and architecture," Das added "I was born in Dhubri and have been living here from last 15 years but only today I could understand the importance of the town from the point of Modern History. It holds major value in terms of cultural and socio-economic background," said Arnab Saha, a student of SP English Medium School of Dhubri. Dhubri was once an important administrative seat of the British who controlled the entire Northeast and built the town as one of the major economic corridors to Northeast India and East Bengal, now Bangladesh.

Professors from Dhubri Law College, SP English Medium and Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit University of Cooch Behar of West Bengal also joined the walk.

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