The Odisha Krushak Mahasangha has urged the State Government to impose restrictions on construction of high-rise buildings in the Old Town area of the capital city for safety of ancient temples and preservation of groundwater at standard level.
Mahasangha president and former Bibhudhendra Pratap Das made this demand in a letter to Chief Secretary AP Padhi. He praised the Government for its recent decision to stop the construction of towers in the Puri Town.
“By this decision, the famous lord Jagannath Temple can be conserved, and tourists can enjoy the view of the temple. Besides, the groundwater level of the heritage city will remain stable,” contended Das.
He urged the Chief Secretary to seriously think of safety of heritage structures of Bhubaneswar too. “The tourists can enjoy the view of lingaraj Temple and other shrines from a distance if high-rise buildings are not constructed. Besides, depleting groundwater level can be checked as use of such water would be lessened,” opined Das.
Das, the former MlA, too noted a few lines of First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech he had delivered while laying foundation stone for the capital city on April 13, 1948. “The new capital will not be a city of big buildings but will accord with our idea of reducing differences between the rich and the poor. Bhubaneswar will represent the art of Orissa, so that it would be a place of beauty where life might become an adjunct to beauty,” Nehru emphasised.
He too mentioned in the letter a few recommendations of the Ekamra Kshetra Heritage Conservation report presented by the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH) to the State Government on August 14, 1998. The reported suggested that maximum three-storey buildings can be constructed (10 metre in height) with 2.5 metre staircase above it in the Old Town area, including Vivekananda Marg.
“However, this part from the report is found to be omitted in the so-called Master Plan of the city,” said Das.