A CORRESPONDENT
DIBRUGARH: Dibrugarh District Commissioner Bikram Kairi on Thursday said that the authorities are accelerating efforts to complete the long-overdue Dr John Berry White Heritage Museum, targeting an early inauguration after years of setbacks.
The project to transform the historic 125-year-old Dr John Berry White Medical School into a heritage museum has stretched over seven and a half years, overshooting its original 15-month timeline.
The Rs 2.1 crore initiative, sponsored by Oil India Limited (OIL) and implemented by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), aims to preserve a cornerstone of medical education in Northeast India.
Kairi revealed that engineering experts during a recent inspection identified multiple deficiencies in INTACH’s execution of the work. He announced plans for a crucial meeting between the implementing agency, district administration, and the project’s oversight committee to resolve these issues. Kairi said that an inquiry has been initiated for the Dr John Berry white Heritage Museum.
“A meeting will be convened after August 15. Should circumstances warrant it, we are prepared to dissolve the existing committee. The district administration will take direct control of operations, given this project’s profound emotional significance to Dibrugarh’s citizens. We intend to expedite completion so that we can inaugurate and dedicate it to the public at the earliest. The majority of construction is already finished,” Kairi said.
The oversight committee currently includes Dibrugarh DC as Chairperson, Dr Aradhana Kataky of INTACH Dibrugarh who is also the Chairperson of Policy Group for People’s Rights (PGPR) as Convenor, and multiple retired and active medical practitioners.
The Dr John Berry White Medical School carries exceptional historical weight, having been established in 1900—four years following the death of its namesake benefactor, British surgeon Dr John Berry White. As the Northeast’s pioneering medical institution, it established the framework for modern medical education throughout the region.
Also Read: Dibrugarh: Dr John Berry White Medical Museum work keeps missing schedules
Also Watch: