Cuttack, April 28: The name of Madhusudan Das is always taken with respect in the state and he is paid rich tributes every year on his birth and death anniversaries. Unfortunately, the lip service does not translate to actual work when it comes to maintenance of the place where the Utkal Gaurav is buried at Gorakabar here.
The British-era burial ground is still reeling from neglect with broken pathways and inadequate drinking water facilities even though rich tributes were paid to Das on his 168th birth anniversary today.
Last year, Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (Intach) had prepared a detailed project report for all-round development of the burial ground. However, the project has so far remained in pen and paper leading to resentment among local residents.
"It is only on the occasion of the birth or death anniversaries of Madhusudan Das that steps are taken by Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to clean the graveyard," said Kishore Das, a local resident.
According to the Intach proposal, Rs 1.5 crore was to be spent on restoration and beautification of the tombs inside the cemetery and development of Madhusmruti, the grave of Madhusudan Das.
"We had submitted the proposals to the CMC officials, which has subsequently forwarded the report to the culture department. We will start work immediately after the culture department approves the project and sanctions funds," said Malika Mitra, a senior Intach official.
Gorakabar was built in 1822 and is now under the Cuttack Odia Baptist Church's control, which is primarily responsible for its maintenance and development.
"Apart from the preservation of Madhusmruti, not a single development work has been taken up either by the district administration or the CMC," said cemetary secretary Rashmi Ranjan Sahu.
Sahu alleged that there was an urgent need to revamp the burial ground that lacks basic amenities. Of the two tube wells, water from one is not fit for consumption. Also, only two lights have been installed at the ground. During monsoon, most of the burial ground remains waterlogged.
"Though the civic body took up a land filling process by dumping sand and soil in a part of the burial ground last month, it has now stopped. We hope that pending work will be completed before the rains," Sahu said.
The tombs inside Gorakabar belong to the colonial period and most of them have been damaged due to poor maintenance.
"The mega development project is pending with the state government. But the civic body will shortly start work on a rest shed, levelling the ground, proper illumination and other facilities to address basic problems," said councillor Ramzan Khan.
Members of Madhusmruti Samiti of Salepur today offered floral tributes to Das and organised a Madhu Jyoti Yatra from Satyabhamapur, Das's birthplace, to Gorakabar.
