Dispur, a locality of Guwahati, became the capital of Assam in 1973. This was after Shillong, the erstwhile capital, became the capital of the state of Meghalaya that was carved out of Assam. Dispur is the seat of Government of Assam. The Assam Secretariat building is located in Dispur along with the Assam Assembly House,MLA Hostels and the State Emergency Operations Centre. The Assam Trunk road and the G S road passes through Dispur. To the south of Dispur is the theologically important site of Basistha Ashram and the Shankardev Kalakshetra, a cultural centre created in the 1990s. Next to Dispur is the ancient township of Jatia. Though it is well known as the capital of Assam, Dispur is also known for the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre. A large variety of tea is auctioned here. The centre has seen the largest volume of CTC tea auction in the world. Being the capital it is a well-planned locale. There are many tourist spots in Dispur - Shilpagram is famous for cultural and handicraft heritage of Assam and other northeastern states. Ethnic jewellery, carpets, silk sarees, wooden and metal handicrafts are available here among others. Basistha Ashram is six kilometres from Dispur. It is popular for Lord Shiva temple. The temple spread across 835 bighas 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. Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra is a cultural institution located at 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 Assam Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva. Inside the museum could be found traditional jewellery, costumes, statues, articles, weapons, stone and inscriptions displaying the not only the culture of Assam but the whole northeast as well.