Changsari

Last updated

Changsari
Village
India Assam location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Changsari
Location in Assam, India
India location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Changsari
Changsari (India)
Coordinates: 26°17′N91°42′E / 26.28°N 91.7°E / 26.28; 91.7
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
State Assam
District Kamrup
Elevation
46 m (151 ft)
Languages
  Official Assamese
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
781101
Vehicle registration AS 25
Website http://www.Kamrup.nic.in

Changsari is a village in Kamrup district of Assam, situated on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River. The name Changsari is derived from Tai-Ahom word meaning chang (expert) sa (good) and ri (make), that is, an expert who makes an ill person well. It is a coincidence that the AIIMS is located here. In the Ahom era it was a village of doctors, Changkakati and Baruah.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Education

Saraighat College is situated in Changsari along with primary and high schools. [1] Notable institutes like the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Guwahati, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Guwahati, and Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute are also situated here. [2]

Health care

With the existing health care facilities, the state government on 28 June 2016 handed over more than 571 acres of land at Changsari to the centre to set up the 750-bed super-speciality hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, at an expenditure of around Rs 10 billion.

Controversy

Handing over the plot at Changsari to the centre triggered a series of protests at Raha in Central Assam and senior citizens of the area went on a hunger strike. The violent protests also witnessed the killing of one person in Raha on 15 July 2016. [3]

The AIIMS Demand Committee of Raha filed a petition challenging the official move to set up the AIIMS at Changsari, which led The National Green Tribunal (NGT) of India to instruct halting of construction work temporarily. Committee and others alleged that construction in current site will have grave environmental hazards, huge natural wetland (Jalah Beel) will have to be completely filled up which may have grave consequences in future including abnormal flooding of the adjoining areas and the highways to support their point, which is thoroughly rejected by Engineers forum.

Engineers asserted that the Changsari site was selected by an expert committee constituted by the Union Government considering over thirty aspects and it cannot be dismissed as a non-feasible site. They said the expert committee examined the technical parameters, which included mandatory environmental impact assessment, accessibility, national and international connectivity, technical feasibility, comparative project cost analysis and existence of support infrastructure in the vicinity for the purpose of selecting the AIIMS site. [4]

They claim that the Jalah Beel is not a water body covered under The Guwahati Water Bodies (Preservation, Conservation and Protection) Act, 2008 and hence allegation that AIIMS construction would violate the said Act, is not based on facts. This Act has specifically notified the following water bodies in the Schedule I to IV - the Sarusala, Borsola, Silsako and the Deepor beels and Bondajan was added as Schedule V in the amended Act 2010.

The permissible built-up construction in the area allotted to AIIMS is 50.92 per cent as per Table 14.2 of the notified Master Plan. The Building Construction Regulation Bye Laws 2014, restricts the ground coverage of such institutional buildings to 35 per cent as per clause 26 (1) (c). Therefore, the AIIMS construction would cover a maximum area of 35 per cent of the plot area and leave the balance 65 per cent as open space. The wetlands, hills, rivers, natural streams, forest constitute only 20.25 per cent of the plot area. Hence this area obviously need not be touched at all.

Only "notified water bodies" under Guwahati Water Bodies (Preservation, Conservation and Protection) Act, 2008 and 2010 and "designated hills" under the Assam Hill Land and Ecological Sites (Protection and Management) Act 2006, are prohibited areas under the law. The law allows for scientific and regulated development of other areas as per laid down engineering stipulations. Further, they say, patients and specialised doctors often need to be flown in at short notice in life-threatening situations. One can imagine the plight of a top level specialist or emergency patient being caught in water logging at Jorabat or in the numerous road blockades and bandhs en route to any other location in Upper or Middle Assam.

Transportation

Changsari is on National Highway 31. Changsari railway station is used for both passenger and freight services. LGB International Airport is 26 km (16 mi) by road.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assam</span> State in northeastern India

Assam is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of 78,438 km2 (30,285 sq mi). It is the second largest state in northeastern India by area and the largest in terms of population. The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor, a 22-kilometre-wide (14 mi) strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India. Assamese and Boro are the official languages of Assam. Meitei (Manipuri) is the official language of Hojai district and the entirety of the Barak Valley districts, while Bengali is an official language in the three districts of Barak Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaziranga National Park</span> National park in the state of Assam, India

Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's Indian rhinoceroses, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the census held in March 2018 which was jointly conducted by the Forest Department of the Government of Assam and some recognized wildlife NGOs, the rhino population in Kaziranga National Park is 2,613. It comprises 1,641 adult rhinos ; 387 sub-adults ; and 385 calves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guwahati</span> Metropolis in Assam, India

Guwahati is the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Its airport is the 12th busiest in India, the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport. A major riverine port city along with hills, and one of the fastest growing cities in India, Guwahati is situated on the south bank of the Brahmaputra. The city is known as the "gateway to North East India".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Saraighat</span> 17th century battle in Assam

The Battle of Saraighat was a naval battle fought in 1671 between the Mughal Empire, and the Ahom Kingdom on the Brahmaputra river at Saraighat, now in Guwahati, Assam, India. The Ahoms, smarting from the occupation of the capital by Mir Jumla and the harsh conditions of Treaty of Ghilajharighat, decided to lure a Mughal imperial force to Saraighat and take a stand there. Although weaker, the Ahom Army defeated the Mughal Army by massive army, clever diplomatic negotiations to buy time, guerrilla tactics, psychological warfare, military intelligence and by exploiting the weakness of the Mughal forces—its navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saraighat</span> Place in Assam, India

Saraighat is a neighborhood in the Indian city of Guwahati, on the north bank of the river Brahmaputra. Sarai was a small village where the old abandoned N.F. Railway station of Amingaon was located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagaon</span> City in Assam, India

Nagaon is a city and a municipal board in Nagaon district in the Indian state of Assam. It is situated 122.6 kilometres (76 mi) east of Guwahati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Assam</span>

The history of Assam is the history of a confluence of people from the east, west, south and the north; the confluence of the Austroasiatic, Tibeto-Burman (Sino-Tibetan), Tai and Indo-Aryan cultures. Although invaded over the centuries, it was never a vassal or a colony to an external power until the third Burmese invasion in 1821, and, subsequently, the British ingress into Assam in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tezpur University</span> University in Assam, India

Tezpur University is a Central University located in Tezpur in the North-Eastern state of Assam, India, established by an act of Parliament, in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beel</span>

A beel is a billabong or a lake-like wetland with static water as opposed to moving water in rivers and canals - typically called khāls in Bengali, in the Ganges - Brahmaputra flood plains of Bangladesh, and the Indian states of West Bengal and Assam. The term owes its origins to the word of the same pronunciation meaning "pond" and "lake" in the Bengali and Assamese languages.

Hengrabari is located in the capital city of Guwahati of Assam, a state on the north-east of India. Densely populated, Hengrabari resembles the character of a small town in the heart of Guwahati. A few decades ago the areas around Hengrabari were covered with dense forest, tall trees and wild bushes. However, with the pressure of increase in population, these forests were burned and cleared, the hillocks were cut down and the plain agricultural land were filled up for building houses and commercial shops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dipor Bil</span> Permanent fresh water lake in Assam

Dipor Bil, also spelled Deepor Beel , is located to the south-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup Metropolitan district of Assam, India. It is a permanent freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River, to the south of the main river. In 1989, 4.1 km² of the area was declared a wildlife sanctuary by the Government of Assam. It is listed as a wetland under the Ramsar Convention which designated the lake as a Ramsar Site in November 2002 for undertaking conservation measures on the basis of its biological and environmental importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudreswar Temple</span> Hindu temple in Assam, India

The Rudreswar Temple or Devaloya is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the village of Rudreswar, under Sila Sindhurighopa Mouza, on northern bank of the river Brahmaputra, in North Guwahati. Built in 1749 CE by Ahom king Pramatta Singha, in memory of his father Swargadeo Rudra Singha, the temple is a fine example of a mixed style of Ahom-Mughal architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Assam</span> Tourism in Assam, India

Assam is the main and oldest state in the North-East Region of India and as the gateway to the rest of the Seven Sister States. The land of red river and blue hills, Assam comprises three main geographical areas: the Brahmaputra Valley which stretching along the length of the Brahmaputra river, the Barak Valley extending like a tail, and the intervening Karbi Plateau and North Cachar Hills. Assam shares its border with Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and West Bengal; and there are National Highways leading to their capital cities. It also shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh and is very close to Myanmar. In ancient times Assam was known as Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotishpura, and Kamarupa.

Narayanpur is a town located in Lakhimpur district of the northeastern Indian state Assam. It falls under Bihpuria constituency of Assam Legislative Assembly and under Narayanpur Police Station. Narayanpur is also the name of the development block. It is located between Dholpur and Bihpuria. Narayanpur was the birthplace of Madhavdev.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirgheshwari temple</span> Hindu temple in Assam, India

Dirgheswari Mandir is a temple situated in the northern banks of the river Brahmaputra in North Guwahati, Assam, India. Many ancient images made on rocks existed along with the temple. Brick temple was Built by Ahom king Swargadeo Siva Singha, Dirgheswari temple is considered as a Shakti Peetha for Shakti Worship. The main attraction of Dirgheswari temple is the annual Durga Puja celebrations, in which devotees from far of places use to attend.

Ramani Gabharu, was the princess of Kingdom of Assam and the first wife of titular Mughal emperor Muhammad Azam Shah. She was sent to the Mughal Emperor as part of the Treaty of Ghilajharighat at the age of seven and was renamed Rahmat Banu Begum after married by Muhammad Azam Shah.

The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. These institutes have been declared by an Act of Parliament as Institutes of National Importance. AIIMS New Delhi, the forerunner institute, was established in 1956. Since then, 24 more institutes were announced.

Silsako Lake is a wetland and lake located at the heart of the Guwahati city and surrounded by villages like Satgaon, Hengrabari and Mathgharia in Kamrup Metropolitan district of Assam. Guwahati Water Bodies Act 2008 has specifically notified the Silsako Lake in the Schedule I to IV along with six other wetlands of Guwahati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Assam</span>

Hinduism is the dominant religion practised in the state of Assam. According to some scholars, it is home to some of the most complex and poorly understood traditions in Hinduism. People follow traditions belonging to Shaivism, Shaktism, Tantra, and an indigenous form of Vaishnavism called Ekasarana Dharma; taken together the practitioners constitute around 61% of the state population as per the 2011 Census. Hindus form a majority in 17 out of the 29 districts of Assam. By region, there is a significant diversity among the ethnic groups that profess the Hindu faith, traditions, and customs. As per as 2011 Census, In Brahmaputra valley of Assam, Hindus constitute 62% of the population, the majority being ethnic Assamese. In the autonomous Bodoland region of Assam, Hindus constitute 71.3% of the region's population, most being of the Bodo tribe. In the Barak valley region of southern Assam, Hindus constitute 50% of the region's population, most being ethnic Bengalis. The Hill Tribes of Assam, particularly the Karbi people of Karbi Anglong and Dimasa people of Dima Hasao, are mainly Animism.

References

  1. "Saraighat College". Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  2. "About". CIPET: CSTS - Guwahati.
  3. "Engineers' forum pitches for AIIMS in Changsari". The Times of India. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  4. "Engineers dismiss Khataniar's contention". Assam Tribune. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.