Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday announced that cremation of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg will take place on September 23 with full state honours. The cremation will take place at Kamarkuchi near Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati, which will be developed as a memorial after the last rites. The location and the time were finalised in a cabinet meeting on Sunday evening.
The CM said that a plot of 10 bigha owned by the state government near Dichang resort on the National Highway has been selected by the government. Locals are using the place to run a nursery and a crematorium, and they have agreed to vacate the entire site for Zubeen Garg. The CM also said that a nearby private plot has also been offered by the owner who owns a hotel in Guwahati.
After discussions with the family of Zubeen Garg, #AssamCabinet has approved allotment of 10 bigha land in Kamarkuchi, near Guwahati where our #BelovedZubeen will be laid to rest on September 23. pic.twitter.com/3Mdf9gdUuh
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 21, 2025
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that state govt had initially planned to hold the cremation in Jorhat, which is being demanded by the people of Jorhat, where Zubeen Garg spent his childhood, but his family preferred Guwahati. He said, ‘We thought Tezpur has Jyoti-Bishnu (memorials of Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and Bishnu Rabha), Guwahati has memorial of Bhupen Hazarika, therefore Jorhat can have Zubeen Garg.
But Zubeen’s family said that as they are currently located in Guwahati, they will need to travel to Jorhat every time they want to visit the cremation site. Moreover, Zubeen’s 85-year-old ailing father won’t be able to travel for 6-7 hours to Jorhat. Three ministers of the govt met with the family today afternoon for final discussion, but the family including Zubeen’s wife Garima reiterated their preference for Guwahati. Therefore, the Sonapur site has been finalised, the CM said. He said that the family has the final say on the matter, and the govt can’t impose its decision.
The CM said that there is another difficulty in selecting Jorhat; Zubeen Garg’s body has already started to swell as he died three days ago, and the cremation can’t be extended much. The 25 km journey from Airport to his Kahilipara residence took around 6 hours, therefore, the 300 km journey to Jorhat may take days, as people everywhere on the route will want to pay their last respects by stopping the vehicle.
Therefore, ashes of Zubeen Garg will be taken to Jorhat, and a second memorial will be built there, the CM said.
Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the site today morning and then again in the evening after the cabinet meeting. He surveyed the site and give instructions to officials to prepare everything for cremation on 23rd September, including installation of giant LED screens. The highway will be close for heavy vehicles till 2 PM, so that the entire road can be occupied by people witnessing the cremation.
He said that after the cremation, engineers and designers will work on the proposed memorial, and the design should be finalised in 2-3 months.
The mortal remains of the late singer are currently kept at the Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex (Sarusajai Stadium) for his fans and well-wishers to pay their tributes before his funeral. The CM announced that the place will be remain open round-the-clock, allowing lakhs of fans to pay their last respects to the legendary singer.
As per latest reports, around 15 lakh people gathered in Guwahati to have a glimpse of their beloved singer. Thousands of people spent the whole night near the airport and Zubeen’s house, and lakhs joined the vehicle carrying the mortal remains from airport. As a result, the journey took around 6 hours.
People from across the state have arrived and are arriving in Guwahati to pay their last respect, and massive sea of humanity will continue tonight, tomorrow and then Monday night before the final journey to the cremation ground begins at 8 am on Tuesday.
The state government had declared a three-day mourning till September 22, but it has been extended by another day for his cremation on 23, the Chief Minister added. Govt offices and educational institutions will remain closed on that day. CM Sarma also said the Singapore government has issued the singer’s death certificate, which states that he died due to drowning. However, the actual reason will be mentioned in the postmortem report, which have not been issued yet.
