Mahakalpara: Even as several striking structures built nearly two centuries back by the British government on Jamboo island in Kendrapara district have been declared safe by the administration, a two-storied building of that era is now on the threshold of disintegration, a report said.
Importantly, the dilapidated structure poses threat to the lives of school children as a cyclone shelter near this building is being used as classroom for a high school, it was learnt.
According to aging local citizens, the east coast regions were the commercial centres at that time and the British government had constructed several structures having eye-catching architectural designs.
The quality of construction, with application of lime, molasses and lacquer, was also of high standard. A series of buildings including a lighthouse in Batighar panchayat, the old commercial centre at Hukitola and another ancient building on Jamboo Island which were constructed about 180 years back still describe the constructional magnificence.
However, the two-storied building can collapse any time due to lack of proper upkeep, locals alleged.
The administration should have taken measures long back to preserve the structure since it is a part of Indian heritage, a local resident said, adding, the British officers used to hold confidential meetings at the building.
The erstwhile administrators were reportedly torturing the locals after confining them in the building, an elderly person of the region said.
Though the district administration had planned three years back to renovate the structure by spending Rs 50 lakh, the process is yet to begin, sources said.
Meanwhile, several cracks have come up on the roof of the structure while plasters are falling regularly off the walls. Some school students had a narrow escape after a major portion of the building caved in three weeks back, it was learnt.
A high school, with student strength of 500, functions from the cyclone shelter constructed near the dilapidated structure.
If the administration is not in a position to preserve this structure, it should be pulled down immediately as it poses threat to the lives of the students and passersby, locals said. PNN