Assam tourism minister Bimal Borah on Wednesday said the state government would turn the Choulung Siukapha Samanway Kshetra into one of the prominent cultural sites of the Northeast and a place of pride in South East Asia.
The project was conceived by the Tarun Gogoi-led government with Gogoi laying the foundation stone before 2006 and the semi-complete project was inaugurated by Gogoi in 2015.
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Visiting the project site on Wednesday, Borah said in a meeting with officials of the kshetra and district administration that the site located in the western outskirts of Jorhat town should be given more prominence in Jorhat’s tourist circuit as Siukapha was towering personality in South East Asia.
Siukapha is said to have crossed the Patkai mountain range from Thailand and beyond and laid the foundation of the Ahom empire in the Northeast.
The Ahoms ruled this region for more than 600 glorious years till the British took over after signing of the Treaty of Yandeboo in 1826.
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Borah said the footfall to the place was low given the importance of the mega cultural site.
The Assam minister directed the authorities of the cultural department to complete the construction work of the auditorium under construction of the site within next three months.
Borah observed in a meeting, held with the officials of the cultural department and the district administration, that there is need to hold more meetings here, plant trees and make the place more attractive for tourists.
Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Jorhat Lok Sabha MP Topon Kumar Gogoi, senior officials of the cultural affairs department, Jorhat deputy commissioner Ashok Kumar Barman and other senior district administration officials accompanied the minister during his visit to the site.
Borah, who is the Tingkhong MLA, also addressed a group of officials of the district administration.