Sambalpur: The Assam government has sanctioned Rs 50 lakh to preserve the Bezbaruah Kuthi in Sambalpur town, the house where doyen of Assam litterateur Lakshminath Bezbaroa spent 20 years of his life.
“Assam government has accorded its sanction to release Rs 50 lakh to preserve Lakshminath Bezbaroa’s house at Odisha’s Sambalpur. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Saturday gave his assent to the state government’s efforts in preserving the house,” an official release said on Friday.
A communique has also been sent to the Odisha government to this effect, which also stated that Assam is ready to bear any additional expenditure for the preservation of the house.
Between 1917 and 1932, Bezbaruah had lived in a house near Kacheri. It is now in a dilapidated condition. Another house where Bezbarua used to meditate is being used as the office of the revenue inspector of Sambalpur. During these years, he was deeply inspired by the Mahandi and the nature, which reflected in his writings.
The house hogged the headlines in October last year following reports that the Odisha government was 2.72-acre land along with two houses that belonged to Bezbaroa for constructing a traffic rotary linked to a new bridge on the Mahanadi. A portion of the house was to be demolished to make way for the new road.
This led to an outcry with the Assam government and several organisations strongly opposing the move.
Assam Chief Minister also spoke to his Odisha counterpart urging him not to demolish the property of the literary doyen having historical and cultural significance. He also sought his support to preserve the house.
Later, a team led by Assam Cultural Affairs Minister Naba Kumar Doley and Chief Minister’s Media Advisor Hrishikesh Goswami visited Odisha and met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with Cultural Affairs Minister Ashok Kumar Panda in October last year. They also signed an agreement with the Deputy Commissioner of Sambalpur in this regard.