Bant: The historic Gandhi Karma Mandir at Agarpada under Bant block in Bhadrak district – then a training ground for swadeshi volunteers where youths and freedom fighters were uniting against the British regime–has been facing utter neglect, a report said.
Gandhiji had conducted a public meeting during his visit and since then the place came to be known as Gandhi Karma Mandir. Later, Dr Harekrushna Mahatab spread the messages of Gandhiji from here as well as decided the strategies for India’s freedom movement.
Being deeply moved by patriotism, many freedom fighters including Mahatab’s younger brother Gopinath Das, Mohini Biwi, Pranabandhu Puhan, Chandramani Sahoo, Padmacharan Das, Ahalya Devi and Damodar Kar had then plunged into the freedom movement.
Worthy to note, after swadeshi movement gathered momentum, young volunteers were being trained here and common people were made aware to discard foreign goods against indigenous ones.
In absence of Mahatab during imprisonments, his wife Subhadra Mahatab was looking after the Gandhi Karma Mandir for making indigenous cotton garments. Local women volunteers were preparing here yarns through Charkha, to support country’s economy.
However, it is lying neglected for several decades, as no step has been taken for its development. Giving his views, the zilla parishad member of zone 4 Prashant Kumar Das said, “As the ground is under private ownership, it is being a bottleneck in getting government grants.
Notably, there are sepulchers (samadhis) of Mahatab and his wife inside the premises of Gandhi Karma Mandir. This ground has given Agarpada a special identity as a workplace of freedom fighters.
