A CORRESPONDENT
DIBRUGARH: Residents of Dibrugarh expressed anguish over the delay in the construction of the first tea museum in the northeast region, planned in ‘tea city’ Dibrugarh. The work for the museum has been totally stalled and a dark cloud hovering over the project.
The proposal for constructing a tea museum in Dibrugarh was approved by the State Tourism Department in 2016 and work on the ambitious project began in early 2017. According to officials, an amount of Rs 3.14 crore has been sanctioned by the North East Council (NEC) and Assam Government for the first phase of the project. It was a longstanding demand of the people but now the project work now remains stalled.
“It’s a prestigious project for the people of Dibrugarh, the ‘Tea City of India.’ We are very much dissatisfied with the work of the department concerned. Why the work has been stalled and the project not inaugurated is still not known to us,” said Bimal Gogoi, a Dibrugarh resident.
He said, “The project will boost the tourism of this region because it will showcase the long history of tea and how tea farming was started in this region during the British period.”
The project spread over 2.66 acres of land was expected to officially open for the public in the first half of 2023 but three years have elapsed since then with no news of its completion or inauguration.
“We had lots of hope for this project when Sarbananda Sonowal was the chief minister of Assam. Right now, we don’t even know how much of the work has been completed,” said Lakhindra Kurmi, Assistant General Secretary of Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) central committee.
He said, “If any contractor is responsible for the delay, the government should initiate an inquiry and take steps against him. We urge the government to take immediate steps for the completion of the project.”
Speaking to The Sentinel, Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ATDC) Chairman Rituparna Baruah said, “The project work has been stalled because NEC has not released the fund for the next phase. We are lacking in funds and due to that, the work has been stalled. We are taking all steps to release the fund. The project will boost the tourism of Dibrugarh because it will be the first tea museum in the northeast region.”
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