Guwahati, Nov 6: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday flagged off the Amrit Kalash Yatra from Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati, dispatching 270 earthen pots to mark the forthcoming construction of Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University. The initiative is seen as a major step in expanding higher education infrastructure in the state.

The Assam government has allocated around 750 bighas of land at Bholaguri Tea Estate in Gohpur for the university, with a sanctioned budget of approximately Rs 550 crore. Sarma noted that sacred soil collected from villages during the Amrit Kalash Yatra two years ago will be used for the bhumi pujan ceremony scheduled on November 8.

Assam is preparing for a series of high-profile visits in the coming weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new terminal of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, lay the foundation stone for a joint government fertilizer complex in Dibrugarh, and open the Brahmaputra bridge connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate a 5,000-seat auditorium commemorating cultural icons Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and Bishnu Prasad Rabha, and launch a project at the birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to witness an Indian Air Force aerobatics show on November 9. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will inspect the new semiconductor plant at Jagiroad, inaugurate a land-water terminal, and lay the foundation stone for Kanaklata Barua State University and a riverfront garden in Guwahati.

In the cultural sector, Tourism Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass unveiled initiatives to promote Assam’s Raas Mahotsav internationally, including a dedicated tourism circuit connecting Majuli, Palasbari, Nalbari, Patacharkuchi, and Pathsala. Financial support will be extended to festival committees across the state to attract domestic and foreign visitors.

Dass also inaugurated a newly constructed Shree Krishna temple at Pathsala, built at a cost of Rs 2 crore, expressing hope that Pathsala Raas will become a major tourist destination. Raas Mahotsav, dedicated to Lord Krishna, is celebrated across Upper and Lower Assam with live performances in Majuli and traditional clay idol displays in districts such as Nalbari, Howli, Pathsala, and Patacharkuchi.

The upcoming visits and initiatives in education, culture, and tourism mark a significant phase of development and promotion for Assam in the coming months.