Assam: Dibrugarh Citizens Question 7-year Delay in Berry White Museum

A Correspondent

DIBRUGARH: Citizens of Dibrugarh are demanding answers over the delay in the opening/inauguration of the ambitious Dr. John Berry White Medical School Heritage Site and Museum project.

The citizens of Dibrugarh need answers. Who is responsible for the project? Why was the project delayed? But it seems that the Dibrugarh district administration is not serious about the project's inauguration.

To oversee the project's development, a Core Committee was established in August 2018 with distinguished members from the medical and academic community.  The committee, chaired by the Deputy Commissioner of Dibrugarh, includes Dr. Aradhana Kataky, president of Policy Group for People's Right (PGPR) and convenor of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Dibrugarh, as its convenor.

Other members included retired medical professionals from Assam Medical College and Hospital, including Dr. Ratan Kumar Kotoky (now deceased), Dr. M. Zaman Ahmed, Dr. B.C. Gogoi, Dr. Ranjit Baruah, Dr. Hemanta Dutta, and S.K. Deb.

"The Dibrugarh chapter of INTACH is not involved in the execution of the project. The whole execution part was done by INTACH Delhi. As citizens of Dibrugarh, we want the project to be done; for that, we were overseeing the project work. I have not been associated with the project for the last two years," said Dr. Aradhana Kataky.

"If the committee was formed to oversee the project, then it is the responsibility of the members to know everything regarding the project, but it seems that nobody is bothered about the project inauguration," said a resident of Dibrugarh.

On January 10, 2018, Oil India Limited (OIL) signed a memorandum of understanding with INTACH to transform the dilapidated 125-year-old Dr. John Berry White Medical School building into a heritage site and museum. The project, sanctioned at a cost of Rs 2.1 crore, was originally scheduled for completion within 15 months.

However, recent revelations through a Right to Information (RTI) reply (dated July 7) obtained by The Sentinel have exposed significant procedural delays that continue to prevent the project's inauguration. According to the RTI response, while INTACH has completed the restoration work and expressed readiness to hand over the site to the Dibrugarh district administration, a mandatory joint inspection remains pending.

The inspection, which should involve officials from PWD(B), PWD(E), the OIL authority, and a technical representative from INTACH, has been stalled due to INTACH's failure to provide the required plan and estimate with the accorded technical sanction. This procedural gap has created an administrative deadlock that has persisted for months.

Official sources revealed that INTACH attempted to transfer the project to district authorities in January 2025, but the district administration declined to accept it without the mandatory joint inspection.

"The district administration cannot accept the project until all procedural requirements are met and a thorough inspection is conducted," an official source said.

Now who will give the answers regarding the project, and when will the people of Dibrugarh see the inauguration of the medical museum?

 Also Read: Dibrugarh: Berry White Medical School Heritage Project in Limbo

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