Built in 2014 & gutted by fire in 2015, whatever remains of Northeast Tribal Museum and Cultural Centre now falling to pieces
BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, June 5: The Northeast Tribal Museum and Cultural Centre was built at zirakhat in Sopur on the outskirts of the city during the erstwhile Congress rule by the Cultural Affairs Department. Rs 20 crore was spent for this project, which now turns out to have been a huge waste of public money.
On August 18, 2015, a major fire destroyed the Museum and Cultural Centre to a great extent. Materials worth Rs 1.58 crore in the museum and 11 tribal huts were completely gutted in the fire.
Although an enquiry was ordered by the Congress government to probe into the causes of fire, the enquiry report was not made public. And since that fateful day, the museum has remained closed.
Presently, the tribal museum's remaining materials which had remained unscathed in the blaze, are now falling to pieces. It is a complete waste.
The Northeast Tribal Museum and Cultural Centre, which was iugurated on February 27, 2014 on 227 bighas of land, was built to showcase the rich indigenous cultural diversity of Assam. Its campus also housed ethnic food items stalls, exhibition galleries and open stages. There was a proposal to build a helipad within the campus.
M/s Bhuban Construction Private Limited constructed the museum and Gam Delicacy Private Limited took it on lease for 15 years on October 21, 2014. The annual lease agreement amount was Rs 1,20,000, while Rs 50 lakh was kept from Gam Delicacy Private Limited as performance security.
But after that fire, and due to the apathy of both the Cultural Affairs Department and Gam Delicacy Private Limited, even the land on which the museum was built is now being encroached upon.
Gam Delicacy Private Limited has sought No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the government for the repair of all damaged items in the museum but alleges that NOC was not given to them. Due to this reason, the museum was handed over to the Government of Assam, says Gam Delicacy Private Limited. There were allegations that Gam Delicacy Private Limited hatched a conspiracy related to the fire incident, but it has denied the allegation.