Installing a 35-foot bronze statue of Lachit Borphukan at Guwahati

As reported in 'The Telegraph' Calcutta, India edition of 16 Nov 15. Text by a staff reporter and picture by UB Photos

Officials began installing a 35-foot bronze statue of Lachit Borphukan, which will be placed on a platform in the Brahmaputra, near Machkhowa in Guwahati on Sunday. Borphukan, who was a commander in the Ahom kingdom,is famed for his leadership during 1671’s Battle of Saraighat where Mughal forces, under the command of Ramsingh I, were thwarted during their drawn-out attempt to take back Kamrup from the Ahoms. Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi had laid the foundation stone of the pillar on which the statue will rest in February 2011 and the project was scheduled to be over by 2012. The delay in installing the statue has drawn criticism from several quarters.Biren Sinha took over two years to sculpt the statue, which was brought to the installation site in May this year. The softness of the riverbed, however, prevented the statue from being placed on its pedestal. Manik Sarma — managing director of Assam Tourism Development Corporation, which is in charge of the project — said it would take some time to complete the installation. Lachit Divas is celebrated on November 24 across Assam to commemorate the heroism of Borphukan.