Guwahati (Assam) [India]September 24 (Ani): Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, said on Wednesday that the state government has banned Syamkanu Mahanta from holding functions or festivals within Assam. After X he informed, “The state government has decided to prohibit Shri Syamkanu Mahanta and any organization associated with it to hold any functions or festivals within the state of Assam.” He further said that the government will not expand financial support in any form to events related to Mahanta. “The state government will also have no financial allocation, advertisement or sponsorship to any event with which it is associated, directly or indirectly,” he said in the post. CM Sarma also said: “The state government will also request the government of India not to expand any financial aid or sponsorship in any way.” Shyamkanu Mahanta is the most important organizer of the North East Indian festival in Singapore, where Zubeen Garg was also invited. Mahanta took Zubeen Garg to Singapore for the event, where the 52-year-old Assam icon died on September 19 after a drowning incident. Several FIRs were filed against the manager of Zubeen Garg, Siddharth Sharma, and Shyamkanu Mahanta with various police stations across the state, and the Assam government ordered the CID to investigate all the FIRs. Zubeen Garg was cremated with full state capacity in Kamarkuchi, on Tuesday, on the outskirts of Guwahati. The funeral attracted thousands of fans and admirers, with very visibly emotional, because they gave their final respect to the artist, known as ‘Goldie’ among close friends and family. The last rituals were performed by Garg’s sister, Palme Borthakur, while his wife, Garima Saikia, was seen in tears and said goodbye. An armed salute was awarded to the deceased artist as part of the state. Assam’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, paid tribute flowers and wrote in a post on his social media, “the last time I had to see #Lovedzubeen. From now on, he will live in Assam’s soul, spirit and heart …” Union Minister Kiren Rijiju paid his last respect for Garg at the Crematorium in Kamarkuchi. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was present on the site and monitored all the rituals in coordination with the authorities and the family members of the singer. Garg, known as the cultural icon of Assam, was not only a singer, but also a composer, music director, actor and filmmaker. With a career spanning three decades, he lent his voice to thousands of songs in Assamees, Hindi, Bengali and several other Indian languages. Garg was a multi-instrumentalist and played 12 instruments, including Anandalahari, Dhol, Dotara, drums, guitar, harmonic, harmonium, mandolin, keyboard, tabla and different percussion instruments. (Ani)
Syamkanu Mahanta forbids to keep events in Assam: CM Sarma
