Guwahati, March 6: State Innovation and Transformation Aayog (SITA) on Monday handed over the first installment of funds to the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) to prepare an annotated atlas of the heritage sites of Assam.
Vice-chairman of the Aayog, Ramen Deka handed over the demand draft to the officiating director, IIT-G, Parameswar K. Iyer at a programme held at IIT-G.
Notably, a memorandum of agreement (MoA) was signed on January 30, 2023 between SITA and IIT-G at Janata Bhawan here for a collaborative project, “Annotated Atlas of the Heritage sites of Assam: Using GIS”.
The Rs 40-lakh project is funded by SITA and will be implemented by IIT-G and along with the Heritage Conservation Society of Assam (HCSA).
The implementing agency, IIT-G, and its partner, HCSA, will be working through the project to prepare an annotated atlas of the heritage sites of Assam to make a visual presentation of the cultural profile of Assam.
Digitised maps will be produced by using QR codes. The data can be uploaded in the public domain.
Deka, while addressing the programme on Monday said, “It is our utmost duty to conserve the heritage sites and geo-tag the heritage centres. I hope, with the collaborative efforts of IIT, we can help in achieving this crucial project.”
He further spoke at length about various other projects such as solid waste management, control of flash floods and hydrology survey of the Brahmaputra, which he hoped would be carried out soon with the collaborative effort of IIT-G.
The programme was also graced by co-vice chairman Dhruba Prasad Baishya who spoke on the importance of our heritage sites.
“If we fail to conserve our heritage sites, it would be like delinking ourselves with our past,” Baishya said.
IIT-G officiating director Iyer also addressed the meeting and thanked SITA for the initiatives in bringing about the project.
