Digboi: A year after an assurance was reportedly given to develop an udyan in Digboi in memory of legendary singer Zubeen Garg, several hundred people gathered at the proposed site on Saturday, marking his first death anniversary by ceremonially laying his cremated remains there.
Representatives of several major community, student and socio-cultural organisations in Digboi participated in the gathering, which highlighted growing public concern over the prolonged uncertainty surrounding the proposed ‘Zubeen Udyan’.
The gathering came amid questions over the status of an earlier assurance reportedly associated with the Assam Oil Division (AOD) to develop the site as a memorial dedicated to the singer.
Jiten Dutta, a former pro-talk ULFA leader and social worker, said the AOD’s Digboi unit had assured people that the site would be developed into Zubeen Udyan, including the installation of a statue of the singer.
Dutta alleged that despite the passage of a year, no visible progress had been made on the proposal.
“One year has elapsed since the Indian Oil authority, Assam Oil Division, Digboi unit, assured us that this area would be developed into Zubeen Udyan with necessary planning and a statue would be raised here. But the assurance remains unfulfilled,” Dutta said.
He further claimed, citing what he described as sources within AOD, that the proposal may not receive approval.
The decision to place Zubeen’s cremated remains at the site was described by organisers as a symbolic expression of the sentiments of people in Digboi.
Dutta said the public would continue efforts to develop the location as Zubeen Udyan, irrespective of whether the AOD management had formally approved the proposal. He also said a large statue of the singer was being planned at the site on his birth anniversary.
Dutta gave the AOD management one month to respond to the demand, warning that failure to act could lead to further public action.
Another participant, Babul Gogoi, a former overground worker of the banned ULFA, said supporters would continue their campaign to secure the AOD land for the proposed memorial.
The issue has also raised questions about the status of the proposal within AOD. In an earlier response to North East Now, the organisation’s Corporate Communications Department had indicated that a formal response from its higher authority in Delhi was awaited.
At the local level, however, AOD General Manager (HR) Amar Borgohain had reportedly visited the site and, during a programme following Zubeen’s death, publicly stated that the area would be dedicated as an udyan in the singer’s memory.
The apparent gap between the local-level assurance and the pending approval from the organisation’s higher authority has left the proposal unresolved.
Meanwhile, Digboi businessman and social worker Purna Bora questioned the handling of AOD land and sought clarity on why land could not be allocated for a memorial that, he said, carries significant emotional importance for people across Assam.
“If encroachment by private individuals or miscreants is allowed on AOD land, why then cannot AOD provide land for the Udyan, which is strongly and emotionally associated with the sentiments of the greater Assamese public? Why this discrimination?” Bora asked.
Digboi is also observing Zubeen Garg’s first death anniversary through a series of public tributes. Shops and business establishments have been urged to remain closed from 5 pm to 6.30 pm, with residents encouraged to light candles and earthen lamps in his memory.
The latest official position of AOD on the proposed Zubeen Udyan, including whether the proposal has received approval from its higher authority in Delhi, remains awaited.