Sambalpur: Even though the historical Rani Bakhri (Queen’s Palace) here was restored to its former glory at an expenditure of over Rs 1 crore, it still remains out of bounds for tourists and residents due to lack of a proper entrance, a report said.
This has happened because the owners of the farmlands around Rani Bakhri have refused to part with their lands to provide an entrance to the site. One can reach the site through a narrow lane near the Pataneshwari temple.
Meanwhile, senior IAS officer Arabinda Padhee welcomed the renovation of Rani Bakhri with a tweet.
The file relating to sanction of Rs 70 lakh fund by the state government is missing hence raising doubts on foul play to prevent opening of Rani Bakhri to the public. The fund was sanctioned by then tourism minister Ashok Kumar Panda. Panda also assured to acquire the vacated land in front of the structure but it is yet to be done.
The Rs 70 lakh fund was sanctioned for grass laying work at the entrance, construction of compound wall and beautification work.
The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) recently completed the restoration and structural conservation of the structure at an expenditure of Rs 1 crore.
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The Rani Bakhri was constructed by Raja Baliar Singh, the fifth Chouhan king of Sambalpur in between 1660 to 1670 on five decimal of land. The Rani Bakhri, built in Rajasthani architectural style, is constructed near the Pataneshwari temple in the town.
Notably, the three storied Rani Bakhri, also known as Jemadei Mahal, has now acquired a bridal look after renovation. It has a total of 15 rooms – seven on the ground floor, six on the first floor and two beautiful rooms on the second floor with a verandah.
The structure was in a dilapidated condition when the state government roped in INTACH for its restoration. Prior to that, only the palace’s roof was rebuilt in 2001 with funds from the Centre.
INTACH experts used traditional techniques for the restoration work without affecting the original structure. A mixture of lime, gum of Bael (wood apple), Reetha (soap nut) and jaggery was used for plastering the monument.
Motifs inside the palace have been uniformly coloured while damaged paintings were restored and pathways created. The old plaster of the historical structure was removed and fresh plastering undertaken in the entire structure, informed Director of Intach Conservation Institute, INTACH Mallika Mitra.
The INTACH officials before restoration work cleared the encroachment of the monument with a saw mill. The adjoining land behind Rani Bakhri was developed into an amphitheatre, stage with required illumination and landscape for future use of the premises for revenue generation purposes, INTACH Sambalpur chapter member and historian Deepak Panda said.
Amenities for visitors like toilets, drinking water supply and ticket counter have also been set up in the premises. INTACH plans to hand over the monument to the tourism department later this month.
When contacted, Hemant Kumar Pradhan, district tourism officer said that the landowners have refused to leave their land for which there is no proper entrance to the monument. He said only wide entrance could increase the importance of the site and tourist flow.
PNN