Damage to monumental site of historic peasants’ uprising of Pathorughat , Magisterial Probe Began

By Mayukh Goswami

Mangaldai :Due to the alleged negligence and callous attitude of a section of officials of the State PWD (Building) Department engaged in the technical supervision of the ongoing multi crore project at the site of the historic Pathorughat peasants’ uprising , the Darrang district administration on Wednesday afternoon has to pass an order to stop the ongoing construction work at a particular area and cordoning off the area. This most unfortunate incident had come into force following wide spread public resentment after the excavator of the work contractor on Tuesday demolished the lone monumental witness of the historic event i.e. the unprotected  graveyard where bodies of  altogether 140 peasant martyrs had been believed to be buried by the British rulers in an attempt to wipe out any circumstantial evidences for the future . Pankaj Chakravarty , Additional Deputy Commissioner , Darrang has issued the order in the late afternoon where he directed to cordon off the area in question and also prohibited  any  further  construction close to it . However construction work in remaining areas to continue as usual the order  further observed . “ On the direction of the Deputy Commissioner an inquiry will be carried out and till completion of the inquiry an order has been issued to Circle Officer, Pathorighat Revenue Circle to cordon off the area  in question . However works in other areas are not going to effect .” , Additional Deputy Commissioner , Chakravarty clarified . Earlier on the day  a delegation of  local scribes’ body Mangaldai Media Circle met Deputy Commissioner , Ghanashyam Dass at his office chamber and brief him about the entire incident of demolishing of the heritage  site and requested his intervention on that highly sensitive issue as per as the history and identity of the district is concerned . In response to the meeting the Additional Deputy Commissioner , Pankaj Chakravarty urgently called a sitting of the officials of the two implementing government agencies PWD (Building) , Mangaldai Sub Division and  Mangaldai Agriculture Engineering Division where technical issues related to plan , working estimate and drawing of the ongoing project has been discussed .  It may well be mentioned here that PWD (B) Mangaldai Sib Division has been implementing a development project including field development , boundary wall and guard wall etc at an estimated cost of rupees two crore released from ‘untied fund’ for the year 2016-17. At the same time Agriculture Engineering , Mangaldai Division has also been carrying out another development project which included construction of a farmers training centre and beautification for tourist attraction at an estimated cost of rupees five crores as sanctioned by the State Agriculture Department following the public announcement made  by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal while attending as the chief guest in the “Krishak SWahid Divas” celebration in the year 2017 and subsequently the works of the project started few months back . The people of the locality and the

members of Mangaldai Media Circle at time of beginning of the construction work had requested the district administration to preserve the graveyard at any cost under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904. But much to the surprise and embarrassment of all the conscious circle of the district and  at the behest of the concerned technical supervising officer of the Building wing of PWD, the contractor and the labourers without  least caring dug out the entire graveyard , the lone existing memorial  to remind us the barbaric killing of village farmers by the British. The spot in an abandoned , unprotected state later was covered by  a bushes of cane and wild grass . It may be recalled here that this year the historic episode of the India’s freedom struggle which still cries for its due national recognition touches one hundred and twenty five years and like the previous years both the district administration and the Indian Army separately celebrated the Krishak Swahid Divas on January 28 and January 29 respectively .