Jajpur: The Odisha government has launched the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme for beautification and development of 20 projects including Puri Srimandir, a report said. However, the unavailability of good quality Khondalite stones in the state has turned out to be a major roadblock for completion of the projects within their stipulated deadlines. The entire project is being implemented by the Odisha Bridge and Construction Corporation (OB&CC) Ltd. The target is to develop Puri into a world class heritage city and to undertake beautification and developmental works in other ancient temple shrines of Odisha.
All these projects require a total of 27422.76 cubic metre of Khondalite stones. The Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has been asked to supply the stones for the projects. The lack of quality Khondalite stones came to fore after chief general manager, Purnachandra Mohapatra of OB&CC wrote to the special secretary of Works department urging him to take steps for timely supply of those for completion of the projects within their scheduled timeframe. Sources said that excavation was undertaken for extraction of Khondalite stones from Sukhuapada mines in Jajpur district for use in the Puri Srimandir development project.
However, availability of sub-standard stones during extraction has sparked concern. There are six Khondalite stone mines in Odisha out of which Chandia, Sukhuapada and Teligarh are in Jajpur district, Gobindpur in Cuttack district and Kurumpada and Naranggad in Khurda district. According to a government notification, Khondalite stones will be extracted from all these six mines. OMC has engaged private agencies to extract stones from Sukhuapada mines. The first agency left the assignment half-way citing sub-standard quality of stones after working for six months. The second agency, ‘Rasleela Enterprises Pvt Ltd’ is also preparing to quit due to the same reason.
According to information available from the office of OB&CC a total of 13141.83 cubic metre of Khondalite stones are required for the developmental work of Puri Srimandir and 14 other projects. The remaining six projects require 14280.93 cubic metre of stones. Among them, 3,308.312 cubic metre of stones will be used in Jagannath Ballav Pilgrim Centre, 1,557.979 cubic metre will be needed for beautification of heritage ponds like Sweta Ganga, Markendaya, Narendra and Indradyumna, 500 cubic metre for Lokanath temple and 850 cubic metre for Sri Gundicha temple.
Similarly, 1000 cubic metre of stones will be required for beautification of Pramod Udyana (amusement park), 500 cubic metre for Mahodadhi Market Complex, 30.991 cubic metre for integrated development works of Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das’s birthplace at Suando, 1463.04 cubic metre for the revival of Musa river, 687.18 cubic metre for development works of Odia University at Satyabadi and 409.23 cubic metre for construction of Srisetu.
Similarly, 1,941.773 cubic metre of stones will be required for the Srimandir Parikrama Project, 294.892 cubic metre for Badadanda Municipality Market Complex in Puri and 222.173 cubic metre for multi-level car parking facility at Jail Road in Puri. The rest of the projects also require Khondalite stones for beautification.
Over 5,817.930 cubic metre of stones is required for developmental works of Samaleshwari temple in Sambalpur, 110 cubic metre for development of Hari Baldevjew temple at Baripada, 1,272 cubic metre for development of Nilamadhav temple in Kantilo and the adjoining areas, 588 cubic metre for Ekamra project, 3,593 cubic metre for Cuttack Chandi temple and 2,900 cubic metre for Sarala temple in Jagatsinghpur district. The question however is whether the required quantity will be available or whether the projects will suffer. When contacted, Samir Mohanty, manager of Sukhuapada mines confirmed the development stating that ‘Rasleela Enterprises Pvt Ltd’ may leave the project soon.
