The portion of the Ranapur palace that is now inhabited by the successors of the royal family. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Ranapur (Nayagarh) June 18: In the scenic town of Ranapur, at the foothills of the beautiful Maninaga, stands the princely structure — the Ranapur palace.

Once a royal site, today, though inhabited by the successors of the royal family, the palace lies in a shambles and faces the danger of crumbling down completely.

Constructed in the 18th century, the main palace building and the adjacent structures display a modern style of architecture and just a few hints of traditional Odisha’s pattern of construction.

Arches on the windows and the entrance walls lend an Odia touch, but a great part of the structure reflects British era architecture too.

At present, one gets to see the main building that is badly in need of a fresh coat of paint and repairs with cracks all over. This part is inhabited by successors of the royal family— Dilip Chandra Singh Narendra Mohapatra and his family members.

There is another simplex structure that lies defaced and unused. A third structure, now completely ruined, shows the remains of an earlier sturdy building which local residents say was once the queen’s palace. Today it is rubble on which tall trees have grown.

On the lawn of the building, one finds interesting sculptures lying abandoned.

From a very unusual depiction of a pair of lions to relief sculptures of elephants, these show traditional Odisha’s artisanship. The entire building needs renovation and restoration immediately.

“The royal family had done a lot for the state in the past. From opening hospitals in the recent past to laying the famous and historic Narendra pond in Puri in ancient times, the Ranapur royal family was a significant part of the royal history of Odisha. But today their own place needs conservation and no support from anyone has ever come,” said Chandrashekhar Singh Samanta, a resident of Ranapur.

“Since this is a historic site, there should be some initiative from the state government to resurrect the lost glory of the palace,” said Abhimanyu, another local resident.

Members of the royal family said that archaeologists or historians have never approached them from the state government.

Officials at the state archaeology department said that the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) had recently conducted a survey of ancient structures that need repairs and the Ranapur palace finds mention in the list.

“We are also working towards documenting the history of royal families and hence the history of this site will also be recorded soon,” said a senior official of the state archaeology department.