Itanagar: The ISBT at Lekhi near here has been renamed as the Nabam Runghi Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) by the state government as a tribute to late Nabam Runghi, the first agency council member of the then North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and present day Arunachal Pradesh.
The information regarding the rechristening was shared by Secretary (Transport) Dani Sulu on Thursday.
Runghi, who originally hailed from the Leporiang circle in Sagalee sub-division of Papum Pare district, is also credited to be the person behind making Itanagar as the state capital.
It is believed that he managed to convince the then governor of Assam, Late B K Nehru to choose Itanagar as the state capital. He single-handedly went to Shillong with a few bricks from the Itafort and successfully convinced the authorities to shift the capital to Itanagar.
He reportedly carried the bricks to prove that Itanagar was a major historical place and worthy of being the capital.
Places such as Pasighat, Basar and Yachuli were other potential sites identified for state capital but lost the race to Itanagar due to his persuasion.
Also a renowned and visionary social worker, Runghi died at the age of 90 on November 18, 2018. (With inputs from CMCC)
