Heritage status demanded for Utkal Ashram at Berhampur

BERHAMPUR: On the occasion of Utkal Diwas, several eminent people from Berhampur said Utkal Ashram should be declared a heritage building. This is the building where, almost a century ago, a series of meetings were held among Oriya leaders to chalk out strategies to spearhead a movement for the formation of the separate state of Orissa on the basis of language. The 90-year-old building was witness to the Oriya movement in the state before formation of the separate state of Orissa on April 1, 1936. The state observed 75 years of Orissa Diwas (state formation day) this year and the government should declare Utkal Ashram a heritage building, said its secretary Basant Kumar Panigrahi, who is also a senior advocate. Panigrahi also urged the government to set up a museum in the building in order to preserve all documents related to the state formation movement and the photographs of the important leaders. According to historians, Harihar Mardaraj, the erstwhile king of Khallikote, was the first person to invite all the Oriya leaders to chalk out a plan for the agitation for a separate state at his Rambha Palace in 1902. The palace is currently leased out to a private party which has coverted it into a hotel.  Since Rambha Palace is not in a position to be declared a heritage building, atleast Utkal Ashram, which played a significant role in the formation of the separate state of Orissa, should be declared one, said retired professor Prahallad Panda. 

The annual conference of the Ganjam Jatiya Samiti was held at Berhampur on April 11 and 12, 1903. This conference provided the infrastructural grounding for the Utkal Sammilani to have its first conference at the Idgah ground in Cuttack, historians said. The land for the establishment of Utkal Ashram was donated by the then zamindar of Sheragada estate. A thatched house was built there as an ashram to provide shelter to the leaders. Later, a separate building was constructed with donations collected from people, Panigrahi added. Almost all the national and state leaders of the time visited the ashram during the Oriya and national movements, he added. Since the ashram played a pivotal role in the formation of the state, the road on which it is situated was named Utkal Ashram Road by the municipality. The state government, however, did not provide any fund for its maintenance, sources said. "The place played a significant role in the formation of a separate state on the basis of the Oriya language and culture," said Mohapatra Bhaskar Gantayat, a noted Oriya litterateur. In due course, several other organisations like Kalinga Sahitaya Samaj, Kabisurya Rangamanch, Oriya Jatiya Bhawan, Odissi Dance School etc came up here. 

Source: Times of India