Work on Berhampur Sanskrutika Bhawan yet to start

BERHAMPUR: Seven years have passed since the foundation stone was laid for the much-hyped Sanskrutika Bhawan in Berhampur but construction of the building is yet to start. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for the Rs 1.82 crore building on January 15, 2004 at Hillpatna. The Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) had demarcated 1.25 acres of land for it. It was supposed to have facilities like auditorium, library and museum, besides functioning as the district culture office. This would have gone a long way in promoting cultural activities in the town that has no proper auditorium and only one library run by the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC). Even the district museum is run by the culture department from a rented house is almost defunct. There are few visitors with most people unaware of its existence. According to sources, the department of the culture has sanctioned around Rs 70 lakh to IDCO for construction of the Sanskrutika Bhawan. But work is yet to start. "We don't know the exact reason behind the delay," district culture officer K C Nishank said. Social activists feel that the government should immediately start construction otherwise some unscrupulous persons might encroach upon the land. Berhampur MLA Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik urged the government to handover the construction of the building to the PWD instead of IDCO. "Since IDCO is delaying construction of the building, it should be handed over to the works department. And, it should be instructed to construct the building within a stipulated time frame" the lawmaker said. 

Source: Times of India