Madhupur Xatra to be cultural tourism epicentre, vows CM

BY OUR BUREAU

GUWAHATI/DHUBRI, Dec 17: Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal has assured that his government will take tangible steps to solve all problems of Madhupur Xatra, as part of which it will prepare a master-plan to develop the historic xatra as an “epicentre of cultural tourism.”

Regarding the alleged encroachment of land belonging to the xatra, Sonowal asked Dhubri deputy  commissioner Dhiraj Choudhury and Cooch Behar deputy  commissioner P Ulagathan to hammer out modalities within January 17 next year to free the xatra land from encroachers, saying that the Assam government will take up the matter with Bengal government.

Undertaking his maiden visit to Madhupur Xatra on Saturday after becoming the Chief Minister, Sonowal inspected the xatra — where Srimanta Sankardeva passed away in the year 1568 — and vowed to transform it into a place of cultural tourism by preserving the sanctity of ‘xatra culture’.  

He also held a meeting with the DCs, SPs and other higher officials of both Dhubri and Cooch Behar districts in the premises of Madhupur Xatra and asked them to draw a roadmap with synergistic approach for development of Madhupur Xatra as a seat of Vaishvite culture.

The Chief Minister also asked the State Cultural Affairs department to develop a plan for building a guest home, a kitchen and toilets in the xatra premises. He directed the Dhubri DC to raise the height of the boundary wall around the xatra.

Sonowal further asked the Cooch Behar DC to filise land for erecting a towering gate of Madhupur Xatra which will showcase the tenets of Vaishvite culture and the teachings of Srimanta Sankardeva.

Moreover, he asked the Dhubri DC and Cooch Behar DC to ensure adequate lighting, plantation, etc., in and around Madhupur Xatra. He also took note of security apparatus and asked Cooch Behar SP Anup Jaiswal to provide security in the peripheral areas of the xatra.

The Chief Minister asked Cooch Behar DC to find a land measuring at least five bighas by the highway to construct an “Assam Home” in Cooch Behar.

Minister of State for Cultural Affairs department ba Kumar Doley, several MLAs, xatradhikar of Madhupur Xatra Lakhikanta Mahanta were also present on the occasion.