A worker atop the Etiben Memorial Tower at Mopungchuket village, Mokokchung on January 19. The Tower, built in 1972, is being dismantled to make way for a new one in its place. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Mopungchuket | January 19
In what could be termed as a bittersweet development, the iconic Etiben Memorial Tower of Mopungchuket village under Mokokchung district is being brought down to make way for a new one in its place. Etiben Memorial Tower, measuring 31 feet tall standing on a base 9 feet high, was built and inaugurated in 1972. Regarded as perhaps the first concrete view tower in the region, Etiben Memorial Tower was inaugurated on May 1, 1972 by Koramoa Jamir, Minister of PWD Nagaland.
Offering an undisturbed 360° view of the area from atop the tower, Etiben Memorial Tower or ‘Mitsa’ as it is known to the villagers, was renovated several times over the years until the villagers decided to finally bring it down. The tower is a community property owned by the Mongsen phratry of the village. Demolishing of the tower began today.
From atop the tower, one could see the snow-capped Himalayan mountain range, the plains of Assam and the Brahmaputra to the north, as well as the hills of Burma (Myanmar) to the east. With the emergence of Mopungchuket as a popular rural tourism destination in Nagaland, the tower has become a prominent landmark in the village.
The Etiben Tower Construction Committee said that the new structure will be an exact replica of the old one but ‘taller, bigger and stronger’. The new tower is said to be 50 feet tall, 10 feet taller than the old one. The committee also said that the construction of the new building will be completed within this year itself and inaugurated on May 1 of 2022, which will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the old one.
