Rayagada: Although a plot has been earmarked, tender has been finalised and money for sanctioned for a new auditorium, which has been in wish list of people here, the work on the project is yet to commence.
Lack of coordination between the municipal authorities and the Works Department is said to be a spanner in the progress of the project. Sources say that work will only take off when the municipality hands over the land to the Works Department.
The new auditorium, to be named after former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, will be 250 ft long and 165 ft wide having a seating capacity of 535. A contractor has been finalised through the tender process and according to plans, the new auditorium will come up on the place where the Krushnachandra Nagar Bhawan is located.
However, some senior citizens and political parties have raised objection over pulling down the oldest existing building in Rayagada. They say the Bhawan is testimony to the role of the former chairman of municipality, Krushnachandra Buxipatra, in shaping new Rayagada. If the Bhawan is to be razed, then the new auditorium should be named after Krushnachandra Buxipatra, they observe.
Owing to the opposition, a place adjacent to the bus stand and the existing Krushnachandra Nagar Bhawan has been earmarked for the project. On the other hand, a proposal worth Rs 80 lakh for new Krushnachandra Nagar Bhawan on the present premises has been passed, but a tender is yet to be floated. In such a situation, neither has the old auditorium been pulled down nor the work on new one started.
Meanwhile, a sum worth Rs 3.50 crore has been released in first phase for the new auditorium, and the remaining amount will be released in the second phase after commencement of work, sources said.
Krushnachandra Nagar Bhawan and Ashok Kalyan Mandap apart, there is no other auditorium in the town to host cultural, political and family functions. On its completion, the proposed third auditorium will host cultural and political functions, while other family functions will be hosted at the old auditoriums.
When contacted, Rayagada Municipality executive officer Mangelal Jain said two months back, the municipality had asked for a letter from Works Department declaring the Krushnachandra Nagar Bhawan as unsafe. The Works Department has issued the certificate last Monday. After demolition of the Nagar Bhawan, the place will be handed over to the Works Department to commence construction work of the new auditorium, he said, adding that the tender for the new Krushnachandra Bhawan will also be floated soon.
PNN
