Guwahati: The world's smallest river island Umananda on the Brahmaputra near Guwahati will have a tourist rest house soon.

Kamrup (metro) deputy commissioner M. Angamuthu laid the foundation stone of the guest house on Wednesday, on the occasion of Shivratri.

The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (Guwahati Refinery) will build the rest house as part of its corporate social responsibility scheme.

The administration said the project, which will cost around Rs 20 lakh, will be opened to the public within six months.

It is also part of district administration's initiative to develop the tourism prospects of the river island, which attracts tourists for its scenic beauty and an ancient temple.

Angamuthu declared the island a plastic-free zone and said as an alternative, the administration will provide paper bags.

He also directed the Guwahati circle officer, who looks after the Umananda temple, to install dustbins to ensure cleanliness on the island.

The river island, named Peacock island by the British for its shape, is also the home to the golden langur.

In 1694, the Ahom king Supaatphaa ordered his minister, Gargaya Handique Phukan, to build the temple on the river island.

In 1897, an earthquake damaged the temple heavily, but it was later repaired by a local merchant.

The temple, with elements of both Hindu Vaishnavism and Shaivism, has statues of Ganesha, Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu and other Hindu deities.

The district administration appealed for the rest house to be set up on the island after a recent visit of Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi.

The governor had expressed his displeasure at the lack of cleanliness at the temple.

Mukhi alleged that the temple and its surroundings were in a poor condition for lack of maintenance.

He said even the solar power plant installed there was not working properly and the priest of the temple had complained to him about scarcity of potable water.

The governor had summoned Angamuthu and given him a deadline to spruce up the temple, run by a committee.