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Guwahati, Sep. 19 (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the state government will preserve the heritage of the 18th century Dimasa Kachari kingdom and develop its last capital at Khaspur, located 25 km from Silchar town in Cachar district.
At the beginning of the Dimasa rule, Dimapur used to be the capital of the kingdom, which was later shifted to Malibang, now in Dima Hasao district of Assam.
During a visit to Khaspur during the day, Sarma said the state government will take up a project on 100 bighas (25 acres) of land to preserve the heritage of the Dimasa Kachari kingdom and to make Khaspur into an attractive tourist destination, an official statement said here.
The department of Indigenous Faith and Culture of the state government will initiate steps for the preservation of the heritage of the kingdom, the chief minister said.
The sun gate, lion gate, main gate, the king's temple, Rani Chandrabha Hasnu Park, named after a Kachari queen, are among the relics dotting the place.
Moreover, the state government would take steps to strengthen the Barman Dimasa Kachari Development Council in a bid to fast track the development of the community, the chief minister added.
Sarma visited monuments of the kingdom at Khaspur that bear testimony to the unique architecture of the Dimasa Kacharis , the statement said.
Later in the day, he unveiled a statue of Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu, the last of the Dimasa Kachari kings, at Silchar Circuit House premises.
The statue has been installed under the aegis of Barman Dimasa Kachari Development Council, which drew praise from the chief minister.
The Dimasa Kachari kingdom had come into existence in the 18th century as a result of a matrimonial tie between the Koch royal family and the Dimasa rulers.
The kingdom was annexed by the British a couple of years after the end of Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu's rule around 1830.
The chief minister also visited Bhuban Tirtha, in the same district, and offered prayer at the ancient temple atop a hill and sought blessings for the people of the state.
Attending a meeting there, the chief minister said the state government would develop Bhuban Tirtha as an important pilgrimage site having all amenities for pilgrims with active cooperation of the local people, the statement added.