Guwahati, Jan 13: As a fitting Magh Bihu gift to the residents of a landmark locality here, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated a modern park on the premises of an ancient, Ahom-era landmark of Guwahati – Jorpukhuri (twin ponds), which has been renovated and converted to an attractive tourist spot.
Notably, the much-awaited beautification and renovation of Jorpukhuri, located near the historic Ugratara Devalaya here, was taken up by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority and developed under the Centre’s AMRUT Mission, involving an outlay of Rs 3.23 crore.
The chief minister, while lauding the efforts of the Guwahati development department to beautify the ponds and set up a park there, however asked the Kamrup Metro district administration to monitor and ensure that the new tourist spot does not disturb the tranquility and peace of the residential area.
“The ponds were dug by Ahom king Siva Singha to ensure that the authorities of the historic Ugratara temple did not face any water crisis. Now, while the ponds have been developed, the district authorities will have to ensure that its biodiversity is maintained,” the chief minister said.
The twin ponds — Jorpukhuri East and Jorpukhuri West — are separated by the Naojan Road, which was a stream on which boats of the Ahom army used to ply.
History has it that Ahom queen Rani Phuleswari had come all the way from Sivasagar on a boat to offer puja at the Ugratara temple on the bank of the western pond.
“Under the renovation project, ecological technology has been resorted to clean one of the ponds while anti-erosion measures, ornamental grills and railing, retaining wall, lighting and toilets, etc are also part of the project,” he said.
“Along with Jorpukhuri, there are many ancient ponds in the city that are being renovated and developed for visitors,” the chief minister said.
Listing out a slew of projects taken up in the city, Sarma said that tap water supply under an ambitious water supply scheme has been made available for 10,000 households in the city and that within the next one and half years, all households in the city would benefit from the project.
“Communication has improved with the construction of flyovers in the city and the ring road project would further boost connectivity. On the other hand, the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here will function from April this year. Once the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge is completed later this year, people can reach AIIMS from Uzanbazar in just 10 minutes,” he said.
“Besides, the second medical college in the city will be operational by next year,” he informed.
Later in the day, the chief minister visited the Fancy Bazar Botanical Garden site and reviewed progress of the work.
“I hope the first phase of the botanical garden will be ready in another six months. I have asked GMDA officials to take care of ancillary facilities and make the place attractive and unique,” he said.
“As part of our initiative to transform Guwahati into a smart city, we have embarked on the Brahmaputra Riverfront Development Project. I have also inspected the Panbazar construction site, which is part of the project and reviewed work progress,” Sarma said.