Post News Network
Sambalpur, April 24: Having the second planetarium of the state in the town of Burla in the district, after the state capital, continues to remain a pipedream for the residents even as two years have passed since the construction was started.
The foundation stone for the project in the town was laid November 1, 2013 and Rs 3.39 crore was allocated for it in the first phase.
Contractor Shiva Prasad Padhi was awarded the tender for the construction through Orissa Industrial infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO).
Though the state government had directed that the works must be completed by March 31, 2015, the IDCO authorities and the contractor failed to do so.
According to sources, it will take a few more months to complete the work. Meanwhile, the information plaque fixed at the construction site has vanished drawing criticisms from several quarters. In the absence of the information plaque, people fail to get the details about the budget estimation, date of beginning of the construction and that of its completion.
When contacted, IDCO’s Sambalpur unit general manager Sanjeev Panda said the science and technology department had directed for the construction of the planetarium. Due to some difficulties in the construction work, the information plaque was removed. He added that measures are being taken to finish the work immediately.
It may be mentioned here that two acre land was identified to set up the planetarium. Another three acre land adjacent to the planetarium site was identified for a proposed science park.