Himadri Kalita
The hundred years old Guwahati circuit house built in the British era to accommodate government officials and others visiting the city was demolished in the year 2019. It was demolished to construct a convention centre proposed by the state government.
With the circuit house being demolished to begin works for the proposed convention centre, the question arises as to where the government officials visiting Guwahati are accommodated at present as there are no plans for another circuit house.
Speaking on the accommodation of the government officials, Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (Metropolitan) Pallav Gopal Jha said, “The state guests are accommodated at hotels after getting permission from General Administration. And the officials to whom rooms were provided at Circuit House are accommodated at Prashanti Tourist Lodge with the DC office signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the year 2019 according to which ten rooms at the lodge are allotted for our use.”
“In worst cases like unavailability of rooms or a large number of guests visiting Guwahati, we try to accommodate them at Assam Administrative Staff College guest houses,” he added.
It has been three years since the circuit house was demolished however, the construction work of the proposed convention centre, whose estimated budget was Rs. 259 crores, is yet to be completed.
DC Jha said that completion of the construction of the centre was delayed due to a few obstacles from Gauhati High Court as the sound of construction work disturbed their court sessions and hearings. The obstacles were also faced by contractors.
He said, “Due to heavy noise created by construction work, the Gauhati High Court objected as it disturbed their court hearings. The construction site is near the high court and continuous sound from the site disturbed their sessions. Due to this reason, we had to slow down our construction work.”
“We also faced a few troubles from contractors. Due to all these reasons the completion of the construction work was delayed. However, by this year's end, the construction work will be completed and the work is being done in full swing,” he added.
Meanwhile, he further said that the construction of the new DC office will be completed in next 24 months.
On January 5, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma performed Bhumi Pujan for contruction of integrated Kamrup (M) DC office in Rupnagar.
At present, Guwahati is witnessing construction at various locations. These works include road development, medical colleges, beautification and several others. Due to these, the citizens are facing traffic jams, dust allergies and several other issues.
Addressing the grievances of the citizens, the DC said, “These construction works are affecting people but at the same time they getting various other utilities such as connectivity, gasoline, pipeline, smart city, etc. So, they need to be patient to get the full benefits.”
