Aasu accuses govt of dragging feet on memorial for Hazarika

GUWAHATI: All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) staged a sit-in near the cremation site of cultural icon Bhupen Hazarika on the premises of Gauhati University (GU) on Thursday.
Aasu accused the government of delay in construction of a memorial in honour of the maestro who was cremated on the GU premises in 2011.
"We have heard a lot of promises from the government regarding construction of a grand memorial where Bhupenda was cremated.But the memorial is yet to come up," said Razmil Ali, president of All Guwahati Student's Union.
He said if the state government does not expedite construction of the memorial on GU premises, where Hazarika was once a faculty member, Aasu will launch more agitations in the coming days.
"Bhupenda's memorial should be a grand one, but that does not justify the inordinate delay. We demand that the state government allot more funds for the construction of the memorial in the ensuing budget session from August 4," Ali added.
Sources in the state public works department, however, said it would definitely complete the memorial by December next year.
"Construction of the boundary walls for the memorial has started. The memorial will come up in an area measuring about six bighas of land around the cremation site. We are hopeful that the memorial would be completed this year. But, as an auditorium, archive and other buidlings are coming up at the cremation ground, it will take a few more months to complete the entire project," said a PWD official.
He added that construction agencies are also eager to complete the project at the earliest, but as the memorial would have to be a grand one, the government is taking its time in planning the structure in a proper and organized manner. The bidding process is also taking time, he added.