The Gateway to Northeast, Guwahati wears a bridal look ahead of G20 events which will be held from February 2. The state of Assam is all set to host the first set of G20 events, with delegates arriving in the city.
The state will host the first Sustainable Financial Working Group (SFWG) meeting and Youth 20 Inception event in February as part of India's year-long G20 presidency.
The state will also host two events in March and one in April.
The footpaths, roads and the river banks have been painted and illuminated with lights and decorative items depicting the culture of the state. Even the trees on the roadside are rimmed with light and the city looks dazzling and vibrant.
The streets of the city are decorated with different paintings, flags of the nations which will participate in the summit.
But the question arises as to how many days the city will look as beautiful as the bride. The citizens when asked as how they feel towards a new look of, one of the citizens said, “It’s good that the city has been cleaned up for the upcoming events but why is the government concerned about the city only when a special event has been organized. Can’t the city get this look always and forever? Guwahati has been said as the gateway to Northeast but the city is always filled with dirt?”
The citizen also raised a question as to how the people will be benefitted with such kind of events. “It is good that the state has organized such grand events but with that people also needs development. Only organizing such events won’t help the people, only the government will be benefitted, not the public. So the government should think of the public as how the public would be benefitted as the development of the public is the development of the state,” he added.
The first SFWG meeting will be held at a hotel in the state's largest city Guwahati on February 2-3 and will be attended by 94 delegates from the member countries of G20, guest nations, different international organisations and officials from the Centre.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shared on Twitter a video of a traditional musical performance at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport to welcome the delegates on Monday and hoped that the guests will enjoy their visit.
“Welcome to India -land of incredible diversity, beauty and glorious past. The G20 delegates are accorded a very warm welcome at the Guwahati airport with a fine display of our local culture. You shall relish your stay at Awesome Assam,” he wrote on the microblogging site.
During the SFWG meeting, four sessions will be held, while the visiting delegates will also be taken on a cruise on the Brahmaputra River and to cultural events.
The Y20 Inception meeting on February 6-8 at a hotel and IIT Guwahati will be attended by 250 delegates, a government statement said.
Moreover, 400 students from various educational institutions in Assam will also participate in the Y20 Inception meeting.
It will be the first of such meetings to be held on the five Y20 themes across India in the run-up to the Y20 summit in August this year.
The Y20 meeting will focus on the themes of 'Peace Building and Reconciliation', 'Future of Work Industry', 'Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction', 'Youth in Democracy and Governance' and 'Health Wellbeing and Sports'.
“The state has completed its preparation to welcome the foreign delegates to Assam. Guwahati is adorned with digital wall painting, thematic gates, flags of G20 countries, LED cut-outs, standees, hoarding etc. as part of branding and beautification,” the statement said.
Preparations for the visit by the delegates to places of importance, like Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Gorbhanga Reserve Forest and the sandbar of Brahmaputra, have been completed, it said.
“This meticulously chalked out tour programme will help in promoting the rich bio-diversity and socio-cultural heritage in the international arena,” the statement added.
