Lachit statue lying near Brahmaputra!

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, August 16: Vir Lachit was never a fallen hero, but lethargic Dispur has made his statue fall on the bank of the Brahmaputra where it has been lying for about a month. Even after four years of laying the foundation stone, Dispur has not been able to install the statues of the war hero and that of his soldiers in the Brahmaputra as planned.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi laid the foundation stone of the project under the Department of Tourism on February 26, 2011. The time period of the project at that time was stated as one-year-and-a-half or two years. However, four years has already been elapsed, but the statutes are yet to be installed. Artist Biren Singha was entrusted with the job of sculpturing the statues. He has completed his work, but Dispur has not been able to install them as yet.

The 30-34-foot-tall statue of Vir Lachit Borphukan was supposed to be installed in the Brahmaputra, flanked by that of other soldiers of his army and two machine guns (toops) at the bottom. In the last Assembly session in December last year, then Industries Minister Pradyut Bordoloi had assured the House that the statues would be installed within three months.  

Now, the statues are lying near the Brahmaputra on the sands, wrapped with a plastic net. It was lying on the sand and the administration wrapped it with a plastic net only after drawing flak from the public.