WB scheme to refurbish colonial coastal building

1.    The building that bears the signature of British structural designing is wallowing in seaside
2.    Built during the early 20th Century, the building with its majestic structural technology served as the rest house for navigators

A majestic colonial building dating back to British Raj is poised for makeover through World Bank funded Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP). The building that bears the signature of British structural designing is wallowing in seaside Jamboo village in Odisha’s Kendrapara District. Lying in an abandoned state, the historic structure is on the verge of collapse.

Vagaries of nature have taken a heavy toll on it. The salinity content in atmosphere of the place has led to wear and tear of the building. The structure was properly maintained till the dawn of Independence. After the Britishers left, it was reduced to an object of neglect.

Nothing was done for its periodic maintenance.

Built during the early 20th Century, the building with its majestic structural technology served as the rest house for navigators because of strategic location of the place.

“The dilapidated building is being refurbished under Coastal Heritage Restoration Plan of ICZMP. The estimated cost of the renovation project is Rs. 60 lakhs. The restoration work would get underway by December under the direct supervision of State Archaeology Department (SAD)”, Mr. Ashwini Kumar Satpathy, Curator of SAD, said.

The building is in a very bad shape. It might fall to pieces if it is subjected to repair. Thus it has been planned to dismantle it completely for its rebuilding. All care would be taken to maintain its original colonial characteristics, he added.

“The colonial building was in perfect shape till the sixties. Visitors and tourists used to spend the night there. In fact its sylvan surrounding was a major source of  attraction for the tourists. But the Government agencies were apathetic towards it, which suffers corrosion and wear and tear. Now the building, reminding one of rich maritime history of this region, may crumble any moment”, described Mr. Bijoy Shukla, a former Sarpanch of Jamboo Gram Panchayat.

“Under ICZMP emphasis has been laid on to preserve the heritage of coastal area and promote community-based heritage tourism, which would create livelihood opportunity for coastal communities and create self-employment. With the renovation of the colonial building, the place would turn into a destination for tourists. With inflow of tourists to the place, it would augment the income sources of the local people,” said Kendrapara Collector Durga Prasad Behera.

Jamboo is a colonial heritage site which has not been showcased properly till date. We are hopeful that heritage tourism would grow with the refurbishment of the dilapidated building, he added.

Under the ICZMP the local coastal community, especially from the marine fishermen folk, would be the active participants of this heritage site development program.








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