Crumbling heritage

When the walls of the Rang-ghar, a royal pavilion of the Ahom era built in the early 18th century in Sivasagar, developed a few cracks...

When the walls of the Rang-ghar, a royal pavilion of the Ahom era built in the early 18th century in Sivasagar, developed a few cracks, fingers were pointed at the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd ONGC, which had been carrying out seismic surveys in the area in search of crude oil and natural gas. Things reached such a pass that two weeks ago, Assam Industry Minister Pradyut Bordoloi said agencies like ONGC would have to stop seismic activities around Rang-ghar, a historical site in the state.

The ASI8217;s Guwahati circle promptly constituted an expert committee to find out the cause of the crack. ONGC, which had to shift its work out of the area near Rang-ghar, issued a denial, with an official in its Assam Basin office saying it always took 8220;maximum care8221; while carrying out any work in the vicinity of monuments. 8220;Nevertheless, we have shifted our seismic activities away from Rang-ghar and also clarified our stand before the ASI,8221; a senior official in the Basin office at Jorhat said.

But Rang-ghar is not the only monument in Assam that has faced problems in recent times. The historic Northbrook Gate on the banks of the Brahmaputra8212;it was built to mark the arrival of Lord Northbrook, then governor-general of India, in Guwahati on August 27, 18748212;has started leaning towards the river. This 8216;Gateway of Assam8217;, as it is popularly known, has leaned about 11 inches north.

The ASI has already inspected the Northbrook Gate and concluded that continuous pressure from the turbulent Brahmaputra had caused the central arch of the monument to lead northwards. ASI officials said the central arch of the gate was heavier compared to the side arches.

Another historic monument that has made it to recent headlines is the Namdangor Shilar-sako, a 305-year old bridge made of rocks on Namdang river near Sivasagar, which was almost removed by contractors of the National Highway Authority of India NHAI while widening NH-37 into a four-lane highway. After a few citizens8217; groups opposed the dismantling of the historic bridge, which is another piece of work that belongs to the Ahom era, the Assam government took up the matter with Union Road Transport Minister T.R. Baalu.