Guwahati, Sep 19 (PTI) The Assam and West Bengal governments will jointly develop the ‘samadhi’ (memorial) site of Vaishnava saint Srimanta Sankardeva at Madhupur in Cooch Behar district in the neighbouring state as a grand tourism destination, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.
Visiting Madhupur in Cooch Behar, where Sankardeva spent the final days of his life, Sarma alleged that former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee did not give him an opportunity to visit the Madhupur satra (Vaishnavite monastery) and kept delaying the matter.
“Just as we have developed his birthplace Batadrava in central Assam, in the same way, we will, in collaboration with the West Bengal government, bestow a grand form upon his sacred Mahasamadhi site at Madhupur Sattra,” he said.
Srimanta Sankardeva is a saint-scholar, social-religious reformer, poet, playwright and a towering figure in the cultural and religious history of Assam from the 15th-16th century.
Sarma said now that there is a “strong double-engine government in West Bengal, people will see how rapidly the state develops”.
Sarma said that during Mamata Banerjee’s chief ministership, he had wanted to visit the Madhupur satra.
He claimed that in the last five years, whenever he brought up the issue, she asked him to come later and it did not materialise.
“For so many years, Didi did not give me the opportunity to come here, and today, two ministers of the West Bengal government are also present with me in this sacred mission,” Sarma said.
”Madhupur Satra in Cooch Behar is the very soul of our Vaishnavite heritage. We have a comprehensive vision to develop it into a grand centre of religious tourism — one that honours the sanctity of the ‘sattra’ while carrying his message forward to the new generation,” he said.
“With a friendly BJP government now in place in West Bengal, this vision will finally take shape in true partnership, modelled after Batadrava Than as a tribute to our eternal guiding light,” Sarma added.
The Assam chief minister said that the Sattra is much more than a place of worship and represents the enduring legacy of Srimanta Sankardeva and his vision of ‘Ekasarana Naam Dharma’, rooted in devotion, equality, knowledge and cultural harmony.
The chief minister said development and heritage must go hand in hand, and the government would also make efforts to reclaim the encroached land of Madhupur Satra.
He requested the West Bengal government to send a delegation, led by a minister, to visit the Srimanta Sankardeva Abirbhav Kshetra at Batadrava in Assam.
The visit would help the delegation understand the development model adopted at Batadrava, as the Assam government is planning a comprehensive development of Madhupur Satra along similar lines, he said.
Sarma was accompanied by Bengal ministers Nisith Pramanik and Malati Rava Roy, both hailing from Cooch Behar district, and Assam ministers Ashok Singhal and Ashwini Ray Sarkar.
The CM offered prayers at the Sattra and inspected the Kirtan Ghar, guest house and other parts of the complex to take stock of its existing infrastructure and overall condition.
Later, he held a meeting with ministers from Assam and West Bengal and the officials of several satras and discussed the proposed development of Madhupur Satra. PTI DG ACD DG NN
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