Guwahati: When the British colonialists occupied Assam, there were around 300 tanks in Guwahati (Gauhati) and North Guwahati (North Gauhati), which were a single entity till 1893, said noted writer Kumudeswar Hazarika while talking to this correspondent.
The waters of these tanks were used by the residents of Guwahati and North Guwahati as potable water. But the Britishers found the waters of those tanks unhygienic and hence unfit for drinking. Most of those tanks were then eliminated through earth filling.
When Guwahati was separated from North Guwahati as a separate entity in 1893, many of the Guwahati tanks were filled up with earth. Only the Dighalipukhuri, Jorpukhuri (erstwhile Ugratara Mandir Pukhuri), Silpukhuri (erstwhile Na-Konia Pukhuri), Nagpota (or Nagkota) Pukhuri, Paltan Pukhuri, Kamarpatty Pukhuri, Padum Pukhuri at Karnachal, Majinder Pukhuri (also known as Panbazar Padum Pukhuri) located in front of the present SP Bungalow and the Padum Pukhuri at the Uzanbazar Oriya Basti survived.
The Dighalipukhuri, which has an elongated shape, was earlier connected with the Brahmaputra on the north and Solabeel on the south. The channels linking it with the Brahmaputra and Solabeel were filled up to make room for the Guwahati Railway Station, Rail Colony etc., on the south and for the Circuit House and the European Club (now the old campus of the Gauhati High Court) etc., on the north.
The Jorpukhuri was dug during the reign of Swargadeo Siva Singha in 1720 AD for the benefit of the priest and pilgrims of the Ugratara Temple, which too was built by him. This tank was also connected with the Brahmaputra through the Naojan canal, which has now been reduced to a mere sewage canal. The swargadeos used this canal to visit the temple whenever they used to be in Guwahati, The Telegraph reported.
The Britishers divided the tank into two parts by laying a road in its middle and thus the tank acquired the name Jorpukhuri.
The Silpukhuri is a landmark of Guwahati. Its original name was Na-Konia Pukhuri and it continued till the 1880s. Gunabhiram Baruah in his article on Guwahati town (Gauhati Nagar), which appeared in the Aghon of 1807 Saka (1885 AD) issue of the Assam Bandhu monthly, mentioned this tank as Na-Konia Pukhuri. However, in an article in the Prachhya Sashanawali edited by Dr Maheswar Neog, it was mentioned that the nomenclature Silpukhuri originated from a rock inscription found on the bank of the tank.
Some circles believe that the boulder steps, which were around six to seven metres in length and were built on the north bank of the tank, might have contributed to this popular name of the tank.
Dr Surya Kumar Bhuyan in his article on Maharaj Rajeswar Singha, mentioned existence of the Silpukhuri during the rule of Rajeswar Singha.
From the rock inscription found on the bank of the Silpukhuri, it is known that Swargadeo Rajeswar Singha got this tank dug through the then Guwahati Barphukan Tarun Duwara in 1753 AD (Saka 1675). The inscription is written in Sanskrit and is now kept in the State Museum along with four canons (bartop) found on the bank of the tank.
The tank was dug simultaneously with the construction of the Navagraha temple and hence it was provided with nine angles (na-non) and this gave it the name Na-Konia Pukhuri.
It is a general belief that the bathwater of the idols in the Navagraha temple used to flow down to this tank and hence it acquired the status of a holy tank. To some archaeologists, it is a significant matter that there was a rock inscription on the bank of this tank. In no other tank of the Ahom era such inscriptions were found. Therefore, they believe that there might be some plans behind digging this tank.
Once, the water level of this tank used to remain above the plains areas in its surroundings. A few years back, this tank was reshaped to give its present eight-angle (octagonal) shape by a committee of the local people, the Silpukhuri Unnayan Samiti