Assam's Charaideo Maidams likely to get UNESCO heritage tag this year: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said the Maidams of Charaideo, burial mounds of Ahom royals, are set to attain UNESCO World Heritage Site status by the end of this year.

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dedication to Assam, Sarma urged the public to support him for a third consecutive term. 

Addressing an election rally at Charaideo under Jorhat Lok Sabha seat, Sarma recounted his meeting with Modi where he had placed the request for recommending the 'Maidams' as the country's nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site label. "Officers in Delhi told me that there were two proposals for the official nomination - our Maidams and Sarnath, the site of Buddhist pilgrimage. When I met our cultural minister, he said he didn't have the courage to approach the PM as Sarnath is in Varanasi constituency," he said.

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"I met the PM and requested Modiji to make Charaideo Maidams the lone nomination from the country for UNESCO World Heritage Site last year," Sarma said. "By this year, the Charaideo Maidams will be part of the UNESCO World Heritage site," the CM claimed. Maidams represent the late medieval (13th-19th century) mound burial tradition of the Tai Ahoms dynasty which ruled in Assam for 600 years.

Out of 386 Maidams explored so far, 90 royal burials at Charaideo are the best preserved, representative, and most complete examples of this tradition. Sarma also maintained that Assam holds a special place for the PM as evident in his donning the 'gamusa' (Assamese traditional scarf/ towel) on numerous occasions. "Modi ji had worn the gamusa when he went to take the COVID vaccine. Later, when I asked him why he chose it, Modiji told me that the gamusa gives him courage," he said.

The PM's recent night stay in Kaziranga National Park attracted further international attention to the tourist site, Sarma asserted. Listing out the different welfare schemes for people like 'Orunudoi' and 'Lakhpati Baideo' schemes of the state government, the CM claimed that the government is committed to continue working for the people. "Along with 'Modi ki guarantee', you have 'Mama ki warranty'," the CM added, referring to him being called 'Mama' in the state.