Koraput: The boat club in the district is lying in neglect and has not been functional even for a single day since its completion.

The club was constructed to improve the inflow of domestic and foreign tourists. However, the boat club at Jeypore is lying neglected since four years after its construction. The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation constructed the boat club an estimated cost of Rs 70 lakh on the west bank of Jagannath Sagar at Jeypore in 2010-11.

A source said though the project was completed seven years back but had not been inaugurated for public use.

"The boat club is a sheer example of wastage of funds from the public exchequer. What is the use of constructing the boat club when it is kept locked for years together?" said Narasingha Patra, a senior citizen of Jeypore.

The boat club now presents a picture of neglect due to lack of maintenance. The building of the club now resembles a haunted house with dust-laden floors, cobwebs hanging from every nook and corner and cracks on the walls. Local residents allege that the project which was constructed to attract tourists has now turned into a safer haven for anti-socials and as sun sets it becomes an open bar with people openly consuming liquor inside it. "The officials concerned should take adequate steps to ensure that the boat club is opened at the earliest. If it remains like this then valuable items, including the barbed wires, could be stolen," said Krushna Sarangi, a local resident.

Acknowledging that the boat club if made functional will give boost the tourism sector, Koraput district tourist officer Jagannath Lima said: "The boat club is maintained by the state tourism development corporation and the reasons why the officials are not opening it are best known to them. On several occasion we have urged them to make the boat club operational but to no avail."