Baripada: The Union Ministry of Railways Saturday announced plans to build a ‘heritage museum’ at Baripada railway station as part of its initiative to preserve the glorious history of the erstwhile kingdom in Mayurbhanj.
According to East Coast Railway (ECoR) Bhubaneswar headquarters sources, the tendering process will be initiated in this regard soon. However, the project is estimated to cost around Rs 1 crore.
The proposed ‘heritage museum’ will be developed in two steam engines placed in front of the railway station.
Mayurbhanj monarchy was one of the princely states of India during British regime.
Baripada railway station is more than a century old and it carries the glory of the region’s past. It reflects the rich history as well as the contributions made by erstwhile ruler of Mayurbhanj towards India’s freedom movement, railway official sources stated.
Notably, the Rupsa-Baripada-Bangriposi narrow gauge railway line was introduced by the ruler of Mayurbhanj Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo. The first section of the 52 km-long railway line from Rupsa to Baripada was inaugurated in January 20, 1905.
Maharaja Bhanj Deo had signed an agreement in December 2, 1918 with authorities of the formerly known Bengal-Nagpur Railway (presently converted to South Eastern Railway). The agreement was executed for expansion of a 9.5km railway line project from Bangiriposi to Talabandha which was completed in July 15, 1920.
PNN