Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Assam Legislative Assembly today unanimously adopted a resolution recommending the central government to rename the Dibrugarh airport as Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika Airport, Dibrugarh.
A special one-day session of the Assam Legislative Assembly was held on Monday for this purpose.
Voicing his support of the resolution, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the renaming of an airport is done by the Union government. At first, the state cabinet has to approve the proposal for such renaming, and then a resolution has to be passed by the state Assembly. Then the proposal has to be sent to the central government, after which the Union Cabinet takes the final decision.
The Chief Minister said that the renaming of the Dibrugarh airport is being done in tandem with the year-long birth centenary celebration of Dr Bhupen Hazarika, which is to start from September 8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to be present at the inaugural function as the chief guest. On September 8, at the start of the celebration at Veterinary Ground at Khanapara, a total of 1000 youths will sing Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s famous song ‘Axom amar rupahi’. The closing ceremony of the year-long celebration will be held in New Delhi on September 8, 2026.
The CM said that a chair will be instituted in the Benaras Hindu University in the name of Dr Hazarika. Talks are also on with RBI to bring out a commemorative coin on the occasion. His biography in Assamese will be translated into 23 languages. Four lakh copies of Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s biography will be distributed in libraries of colleges and universities across the country. Around 12 lakh copies of the book will be distributed among individual households in the state.
All MLAs, irrespective of their party affiliation, participated in the proceedings in the Assembly. Education minister Ranoj Pegu said that if Dr Bhupen Hazrika’s lyrics and literature were translated at that time into languages that the world understood, then it is highly likely that he would have won the Nobel Prize.
Agriculture Minister Atul Bora said that Bhupen Hazarika was not just a name but an institution. Minister Prashanta Phukan said that Hazarika tried to unite the Seven Sisters through his songs. Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia said that he was recognised not only for his songs but in different fields. He urged the state government to give out scholarships to newly-emerging singers.
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