Assam: 270 urns to reach New Delhi tomorrow; CM flags off train carrying urns

As many as 270 urns containing soil from different parts of Assam will reach the national capital on Saturday.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today flagged off the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express carrying urns filled with soil at the Guwahati Railway Station in the wee hours. 

A total of 540 urns with soil were collected. An equal number of urns are stored at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra which will be later used in the foundation stone laying ceremony of the state’s proposed largest university at Gohpur. 

Altogether 285 people, including officials will arrive here by Rajdhani Express with the urns. 

Minister for Cultural Affairs, Bimal Borah and senior officials will receive those accompanying the urns at the New Delhi Railway Station. A total of six coaches have been wrapped with banners of Amrit Kalash Yatra. 

Plans are on the anvil to take out a colourful cultural procession with soil from 35 districts of Assam to a place near the National War Memorial, where an Amrit Vatika will be developed. This garden will act as a shared heritage with soil and saplings from every corner of the country. 

To make the programme a hassle-free and smooth manner, senior officials of the Cultural Affairs Department, Government of Assam discussed matters threadbare at a meeting with representatives of various Assam based organisations from Delhi-NCR at the conference hall of Assam House here on Thursday evening. 

The meeting presided over by Secretary, Cultural Affairs Department, Monidipa Borkataky, chalked out a slew of plans, including pick up points at JNU, Sankardev Bhawan, Dwarka Sector 12, DU, Assam House and Faridabad for people of the state residing in Delhi-NCR. Around 250 people from Delhi-NCR are expected to participate in the event. Each group will be accompanied by a team leader. A WhatsApp Group has been created to ensure smooth conduct of the programme. 

As part of the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign, the ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra’ carrying soil in 7,500 urns from every corner of the country is expected to reach the national capital from October 28 to 30 to mark the culmination of the campaign. The soil from all corners of the country will be used for creation of the Amrit Vatika in honour of our bravehearts who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the nation. 

The Amrit Kalash Yatra kickstarted in Assam on September 20 and continued till October 26 in every village and municipal ward with people coming out in large numbers to take part in the campaign. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma participated in a programme at Dharapur in Guwahati in October. Sarma made a clarion call to the people of the state to make the campaign a resounding success. 

An official from the State Cultural Affairs Department said that youth, volunteers and citizens from all corners of the state collected soil samples from villages and municipal wards. “Soil was collected from all parts of the state and the 270 urns are being carried to the national capital,” the official said.