Body seeks assistance for construction of cultural centre in Tripura
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 21 2017:
Puthiba Welfare and Cultural Society has appealed to the State Government to extend help for the construction of Manipur Cultural Centre at Abhoynagar in Agartala, Tripura .
In a press meet held today at the office of Umanglai Kanba Lup (UKAL), secretary of Puthiba Welfare and Cultural Society, Sinam Dipak said that preparations have begun for the construction of a Manipur cultural centre at Abhoynagar in Agartala.
The residents of the locality have donated the land and the Tripura Govt has given permission for the construction of the Centre in an area covering about 3 acres.
The estimated cost of the project is about Rs 96 lakh.
The proposed three-floor building will also have a guest house .
He further added that a memorandum has been submitted to the State's CM and MAHUD Minister regarding the construction of the cultural centre .
Appealing to the Government and the general public to extend assistance to the project, Dipak said the Centre has been planned as the Lainingthou Puthibagi Lai Haraoba has been celebrated at Abhoynagar for the last eight years.
People from different places as far as Assam, Bangladesh and Manipur have come to attend the celebration and the new guest house will provide accommodation to delegates from other places.
Also, Agartala is a compulsory stop on the way to Bangladesh from both Manipur and Assam and the new centre will be of immense help in this journey .
Lainingthou Puthibagi Lai Haraoba is going to be celebrated in early 2018 and the CM has been invited to take part in it.
The Tripura Government has also given assurance to provide help in the construction of the centre, he added .
Tripura Govternment has also earmarked Rs 1 lakh for the festival of the Manipuris.
The celebration of the Lainingthou Puthibagi Lai Haraoba since the past eight years has been successful only because of the collective efforts.
There is a story that when the King Birendra Kishore Manikya of Tripura married the princess of Manipur, he gave the order to establish a place of worship for the Manipuris, he also added .
Convenor of UKAL, M Maniton Mangang said that the aspiration to preserve heritage and traditions is strong in the Manipuri diasporas of Tripura.
They are learning the traditional dance and also about the traditional attire of the religious festivals .
The festival of Lai Haraoba has been celebrated in the last few years with contributions from the diasporas.
A question then naturally arises as to how long the festival will be celebrated with contribution money? He appealed to the Govt of Manipur and the Department of Art and Culture to take the matter into consideration, he added.
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