Guwahati diary

Sit-ins and sloganeering at historic Dighalipukhri — Assam’s Jantar Mantar in Guwahati — could soon be a thing of the past.

Assam’s ‘Jantar Mantar’ Dighalipukhri to lose its voice

Sit-ins and sloganeering at historic Dighalipukhri — Assam’s Jantar Mantar in Guwahati — could soon be a thing of the past. The Gauhati High Court has directed the state’s BJP-led coalition government to look for an alternative venue for protestors and issued a three-month deadline. The order was based on a PIL filed by the Lawyers’ Association Guwahati, which highlighted commuters’ plight caused by frequent traffic snarls vis-a-vis the protest demonstrations.

For decades, the banks of Dighalipukhri, which is a rectangular and man-made pond measuring about half a mile long, has served as an ideal venue for groups and organisations to stage sit-ins and protest demonstrations. The chief minister’s office told New Indian Express that the government was searching for an alternative space for the protestors.

Sports mania

With six U-17 Football World Cup matches and the second T20 between India and Australia in Guwahati, sports lovers in the Northeast were in for a double delight. International events here are a rarity and so, when there is one, one can only guess the locals’ enthusiasm.

Tickets for the T20 match, at the newly-constructed Barsapara stadium that has a seating capacity for 37,500, were sold out - online. The passion of the students in the city is comprehensible — Guwahati got a match after seven years. The locals are equally mad about the football matches - two of them were played out on Sunday. Eight Manipuris made it to the Indian team making the region proud.

The ‘10% commission’ row

Assam’s motormouth BJP MP, Ram Prasad Sharma, finds himself isolated. The BJP has asked him to not needlessly open his mouth, especially before the media. The ruling party was rattled following accusations by the lawyer-turned-lawmaker that a section of the ministers in the BJP-ruled state would award work to contractors only on payment of a “commission” of 10 per cent.

The comments, heard in a sting operation by a local news channel, triggered a storm with the opposition parties going for the jugular of the BJP and a minister named by the MP. BJP Assam unit chief, Ranjit Das, said Sharma had levelled the charge without any evidence. However, the quirky Sharma is known to make bizarre comments. Once, he proclaimed that given a chance, he would solve the Kashmir problem in three months.

Movie fes

Movie aficionados are eagerly looking forward to the first-ever “Guwahati International Film Festival”. The six-day gala event - the first of its kind in the Northeast - will begin on October 28. The fiesta is being organised in collaboration with Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute and the Assam State Film Corporation under the Cultural Affairs department.

Films from 35 countries will be screened at two different venues. Eminent filmmakers Shaji N Karun and Adoor Gopalakrishnan will be among dignitaries to attend the festival. “Five cinemas each in Indian panorama and Cinema of Northeast will be screened. Under the Cinema of Assam section, seven movies will be screened,” said Assam’s cultural affairs minister, Naba Kumar Doley.

Prasanta Mazumdar

The author is the correspondent of the New Indian Express in Assam.

Email: prasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com