Nagaon: The highly awaited Batadrava Cultural Project, planned to be developed at the birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev, the 15th-century saint, reformer, and cultural icon of Assam, is all set to be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on December 29. This initiative reaffirms it as a major step in the preservation of the spiritual heritage of Assam, besides promoting cultural tourism worldwide.
Ahead of the inauguration, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the site to inspect the preparations that had been made for the inauguration. He was accompanied by Nagaon MLA Rupak Sarmah and District Commissioner Devashish Sharma, as well as Assam Cabinet Minister Pijush Hazarika. He closely observed the status of the work that had been done for the construction of this project.
Interacting with the media during his visit to the place, the Chief Minister termed the Batadrava Cultural Project as the 'dream project of the state government.' The Chief Minister has revealed that "Nearly 90 % of the construction works are completed. The remaining work will be done subsequently after the inauguration of the project.” The Chief Minister has further added that their target is to transform Batadrava into an international destination for spiritual studies and cultural tourism.
Batadrava Than, the sacred birthplace of Srimanta Sankardev, has immense religious as well as historical significance. The present project aims at conserving this heritage by developing modern infrastructure with the sanctity of the place intact so as to attract devotees, researchers, and tourists from all over the world.
Meanwhile, during the visit, CM also strongly condemned the instances of violence in Bangladesh. He expressed his concerns regarding the events unfolding in the country.
The Batadrava Cultural Project has become an embodiment of the renewed attention to heritage-driven development in Assam. The continued development in spiritual, cultural, and tourism infrastructures means that the state is gradually becoming an important tourist destination that harmoniously balances tradition with modernity in trendy ways, symbolically reflecting the journey to inclusive growth in Assam’s cultural revival in the global arena.