Achi news desk-
Guwahati: Over the years, a number of culturally significant sculptures and structures have been erected across Guwahati. Unfortunately, there was a lack of proper documentation to help the younger generation and tourists understand the relevance of these structures.
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On May 16, Anita Verma, advocate of the High Court of Guwahati and president of the NGO “We for Guwahati”, wrote a letter to the Minister of Urban Affairs and Housing, Ashok Singhal, the Commissioner and Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs, Kavitha Padmanathan, the Chairman of GMDA, Narayan Deka, and GMDA CEO Annbamuthan MP. She addressed the issue of some buildings in the revamped Nehru Park lacking signage or plaques to inform visitors about Guwahati’s history.
Anita mentioned in the letter the ground zero in Nehru Park, where the city was mapped during the British era, and the statue of Kushal Kunwar, a famous freedom fighter from Assam. Both buildings lacked inscriptions describing their historical significance.
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After waiting for almost a month with no response from the authorities, a temporary plastic board was eventually placed near the statue by the GMDA. Anita took to X (formerly Twitter) to update everyone on the situation. On June 13, she published a post on the issue and stated that after pointing out the lack of signage and historical information, the GMDA responded with "Cheap plastic signage for the statue of the freedom fighter."
A senior journalist from Assam, Marnel Talukder also highlighted the plastic panel in the X, saying: "Today everyone remembered Kushal Kunwar. The only proper statue (Nehru Park) didn’t even have a plaque. When @annaverma27 wrote to GMDA, they put up a ₹100 plastic board with the name last week. Hope to see a proper plaque describing his legacy tomorrow."
What a month-old letter and suggestions from a concerned citizen failed to achieve was accomplished by a single tweet by Marnel Talukder on June 15. The Assam Chief Minister responded within 30 minutes, requesting urgent action from Urban Affairs and Housing Minister Ashok Singhal.
Within two hours, Singhal visited Nehru Park with GMDA officials and installed a more permanent board. He later published in X, "As instructed by our honorable CM, Dr. @himantabiswa, visited Nehru Park along with Shri Narayan Deka, Chairman GMDA and other dignitaries. The temporary sign has been properly installed and a new plaque commensurate with the stature of Swahid Kushal Kunwar will be installed in his honor at the earliest."
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Coincidentally, the plaque was installed on the anniversary of Kushal Kunwar’s death, on June 15 appropriately.
