OP EXCLUSIVE
monalisa patsani
post news network
Bhubaneswar, Nov 16: The state science and technology department is to build three new planetariums soon. According to sources, the department plans to construct the projects in Ganjam, Mayurbhanj and Rayagada districts.
While land for the project in Ganjam has been acquired in Gopalpur, the process for identification of land is on at Baripada in Mayurbhanj and in Rayagada district.
“Five acres near Berhampur University in Gopalpur were identified for the project and alienation of the land has been already done by the department. Construction will begin soon,” Kailash Chandra Sahoo, joint secretary of S&T department, said.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is expected to lay stone for the Gopalpur planetarium by end of November. “The construction of boundary wall will start in December. We plan to finish construction within the next two years,” he said.
The project is estimated to cost about Rs12 crore and could escalate depending on construction costs. Sources said a Sub-regional Science Centre is also to be built alongside the planetarium. Work on the project, estimated to cost Rs6 crore, will begin soon, the sources added.
“We propose to construct 12-metre domes at the proposed planetariums,” planetarium engineer Jaidev Kar said.
At present the state has only one working planetarium — the Pathani Samanta Planetarium in Bhubaneswar, which was established in 1990. Another planetarium has been constructed in Burla and it is expected to be inaugurated May-June 2017.
“Burla Planetarium project is completed and orders have been placed for procurement of digital planetarium system from the US,” Jaidev, the planetarium engineer, said.
“Burla Planetarium is also 12 metres in diameter and will project latest programmes. It will feature full dome video projection and shows would be 30-40 minutes long in Oriya, Hindi and English,” Jaidev said.
