Mahakalapara: A British-era building in Kendrapara district where rulers and officials used to hold secret parleys and also used it as a temporary prison to house freedom fighters is in a very dilapidated state and on the verge of collapse due to lack of proper maintenance, sources said Tuesday. The building has been named ‘Jambu Lal Kotha’ by locals and is located in this block. In the building, freedom fighters were tortured to extract information out of them. Many such horror stories are written on the walls of the building. They were forced to do all types of menial works.
Anyone opposing the British rule was brought here after their arrest and tortured physically and mentally. The building was also used to store initially food supplied from foreign countries during the famous 1866 famine. Then the items were sent in steamers to places like Cuttack, Chandbali and Balasore. Now, however, the building lies neglected. Both the Central and state governments have prepared special plans and are spending a lot to renovate the false points at Hukitola and Batighara islands.
However, the administration has never thought about renovating this historical structure. Locals alleged that the Jambu High School is situated near this building and students often enter it while playing. Few years back, the students had a close shave when a slab of the building collapsed while they were playing. So even now the possibility of a mishap cannot be ruled out. According to locals, the British had employed members of a particular community as ‘Khalasi’ (fourth-grade employees). These ‘Khalasis’ were witnesses to all the activities of the British rulers that they narrated to the locals, the senior citizens in the area said.
The British rulers and officials also used to supervise the construction of buildings at Hukitola and Batighara false points from this structure. The Jambu Lal Kotha was constructed with large red colour bricks, lime and lac (resins). The building started decaying after India’s independence due to the vagaries of nature. Also local miscreants looted parts of the building. They broke windows and doors made of costly teak wood and sold those. Locals Biranchi Narayan Das and Subhash Chandra Swain have demanded that the building be declared ‘unsafe’ immediately or steps are implemented for its renovation.