Construction materials dumped inside a cell at the Old Cuttack Jail at Dargha Bazaar. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, July 22: Ward No. 15, the only surviving remnant of Old Cuttack Jail at Dargha Bazaar, has now turned into a mere “warehouse” for construction materials. This has led to resentment among various sections of the people.

Drums, stones, asbestos sheets and other materials are now dumped inside the heritage building owing to the delay in execution of much-awaited development proposals mooted for the ward some two years ago.

On January 23, 2010, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for Freedom Fighters’ Memorial at Old Cuttack Jail to preserve its historic past.

“It is really unfortunate that there has been an inordinate delay on the part of various agencies to carry out restoration and development of the historic Old Jail,” said secretary of State Freedom Fighters’ Samiti Bisweswar Dey, 77.

The jail was built in 1881 with a civil ward constituting a 70ftx34 ft room (ward No. 15), to accommodate 100 civilian prisoners. The prison functioned as a district jail after creation of separate Bihar and Odisha province in 1912.

After Odisha became a separate province in 1936, it started functioning as a central jail for lifers and long-term convicts. Subsequently, the central jail was shifted from Cuttack to Choudwar between 1984 and 1988 while a large portion of the 14.16 acres jail land at Dargha Bazaar had since been converted for other purposes except for ward No. 15.

Dey said the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA), Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) were entrusted with the renovation work.

However, so far the project has made a tardy progress even after three years of laying the foundation stone. The samiti would soon urge officials concerned for maintaining proper sanitation, as a public meeting would be held here on the occasion of Independence Day, Dey added.

Intach officials, however, have already submitted a proposal for overall landscaping, restoration of the Old Jail building, interiors and construction of compound wall to the CDA in this regard.

“The cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 1.40 crore and we are waiting for necessary approvals from CDA,” said Intach director Malika Mitra.

But, a CDA official said that minor repair works worth Rs 5 lakh were carried out at the historic site while there are plans to develop a park with other peripheral activities. “Already funds worth Rs 25 lakh have been earmarked for the project. However, the work is expected to begin after getting necessary approvals and funds are released by government,” said CDA secretary Saroj Sethi.