GUWAHATI, May 20: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday visited Zubeen Kshetra at Komarkuchi in Sonapur and reviewed the progress of the construction of the memorial site.
After paying tributes to the late singer by lighting a lamp at the memorial site, the chief minister inspected the surrounding area and reviewed the progress made so far as a part of the construction work.
It may be mentioned that the Assam government has undertaken steps to develop Zubeen Khetra into a culturally-enriched memorial and an inspirational centre for future generations.
“During the initial phase of the project, the public works department has already begun construction of the boundary wall at an estimated cost of around Rs 3 crore,” the chief minister informed mediapersons at the site.
“Necessary protective measures have also been taken up to prevent soil erosion from the upper slopes,” Sarma said.
During the inspection, the chief minister directed officials to expedite the next phase of the construction work.
Responding to a query on the cultural icon’s death being politicised during the election campaign, Sarma said, “Politicising the unfortunate death of beloved Zubeen during the elections has backfired on the Congress-led Opposition.”
“Some of them stopped invoking his name as soon as the polls were over, and those who came to his memorial site had no knowledge of Zubeen when he was alive,” the chief minister said.
“But for us, Zubeen was with us in the past, he is in the present, and will remain with us in the future,” he said.
Sarma also visited Morigaon’s Ahatguri and inspected more than 331 bighas of reserved government land at Borbori, earmarked for setting up various government institutions.
He visited the proposed mega industrial park site spread across more than 1,067 bighas of land in the Sipiri-Duruladubi revenue village of Ahatguri and reviewed the progress of the project.
Jagiroad MLA Pijush Hazarika, state chief secretary Ravi Kota and senior officials from the concerned departments were present during the visit.
Subsequently, the chief minister also inspected the Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test project site at Jagiroad, which is expected to usher in a new era of state’s economy and employment sector.
“Production will start very soon from this facility marking the official roll out of semiconductor chips,” Sarma said.
Senior officials of the Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test project briefed the chief minister on the status of the project.
The chief minister asked the concerned officials to ensure fast and efficient execution of all construction-related work.
