It became the capital in 1973, whenShillong the erstwhile capital, became the capital of the state ofMeghalaya that was carved out of Assam.
Dispur is the seat of power ofGovernment of Assam. The Assam Secretariat (Janata Bhawan) building is located in Dispur along with the Assam Legislative Assembly House, MLA Hostels and the State Emergency Operations Centre. The Assam Trunk road and the G S road pass through Dispur. To the south of Dispur lies the theologically important site ofBasistha Ashram and theShankardev Kalakshetra, a cultural centre created in the 1990s. Next to Dispur is the township ofJatia.
TheGuwahati Tea Auction Centre, one of the busiest tea trading facilities in the world, is located in the city.
Dispur, being a part of Guwahati, has warm summers and cold winters. Winters are also accompanied by occasional rainfalls that bring down the temperature further. Monsoon season in Dispur commences from the month of June. Dispur monsoons are usually accompanied by severe thunderstorms along with heavy downpours.[citation needed]
Being the capital it is a well-planned locale. There are many tourist spots in Dispur, such as:
Shilpagram is famous for cultural and handicraft heritage of Assam and other northeastern states. Ethnic jewellery, carpets, silksaris, wooden and metal handicrafts are available here among others.[citation needed]
Basistha Ashram is six kilometres from Dispur. It is popular for a Lord Shiva temple. The temple spread across 835bighas of land. It stands on the bank of mountain streams which originates from the hills of Meghalaya which in turn becomes river Basistha and Bharalu that flows through the city.[citation needed]
Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra is a cultural institution located at the Panjabari area of the region. The museum preserves the culture and tradition of Assam as well as the Northeast. It is named after the great cultural exponent and scholar of AssamMahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva. Inside the museum, there are traditional jewellery, costumes, statues, articles, weapons, stone and inscriptions displaying the culture of Assam and the rest of the northeastern region.[citation needed]
Dispur is home to many hospitals and healthcare centres includingGuwahati Neurological Research Centre (GNRC) Hospitals, Dispur Hospital, Dispur Polyclinic and Hospital and Capital State Dispensary.[citation needed]
