Sivasagar, May 4: The Assam government is yet to improve facilities for night accommodation of tourists visiting Sivasagar despite their number increasing steadily.

Sivasagar was the kingdom of the Ahom dynasty and lakhs of tourists come here to visit the historical place. As the number of private hotels is insufficient, the government had built two guest houses - one at the ASTC bus terminus and the other near the Shiva temple. Both are non-functional.

A three-storied yatri niwas at the ASTC bus terminus was inaugurated in 2011 but it is under lock and key since its inauguration. The one near the Shiva temple, which is called a dharmasala, is in an abandoned state, though the shops upstairs are operational. There is a tourist lodge beside Sivasagar lake but there is no generator, and power cut is a common problem in Sivasagar. So, the tourists try to avoid staying overnight.

In Sivasagar and adjoining Charaideo, there are 28 historical monuments, of which 22 are under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and rest is under the state archaeology department.

In 2015-16, 4,51,000 tourists visited these places, of whom 1,745 were foreigners. Sivasagar tourist information officer Bidyarnav Bora admitted that the state government should pay more attention to infrastructure development for tourism here.

Asked why the yatri niwas is not functional, ASTC officials were tight-lipped, saying it is up to the higher authorities. On the unused dharmasala, which is looked after by the temple committee, a priest, Rohit Sastri, said, "We open it only when there is a heavy rush of devotees."

Councillor Rana Khan blamed the local administration for this: "The temple committee is headed by the deputy commissioner. We have approached him several times for proper use of the dharmasala, but our pleas fell on deaf ears."

On the absence of a generator at the tourist lodge, the caretaker said: "We have written to the higher authorities."