Bhubaneswar: The development authority is planning to drop its proposal to construct a bypass through Saink School following opposition from the institute's authorities.
An official source said the Bhubaneswar Development Authority was reconsidering the plan after Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, Vishakhapatnam, wrote to chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi and sought his intervention in the matter. Vice Admiral Singh is also chairman of the school's local board of administration.
In his letter to Padhi on July 18, he wrote that the proposed bypass would divide the school compound into two parts.
"Facilities such as the sports fields, swimming pool and residential quarters would be on one side, while the academic and administrative blocks would be on the other."
He also mentioned that important structures on the school premises, including the overhead water tank, transformer and the Bal Sainik School, would need to be relocated as a result.
Stating that all these things would adversely affect functioning of the school, Singh suggested: "It is, therefore, requested that the proposed widening of the road through the Sainik School area be reconsidered and the proposed road network be planned through the Press Chhak instead."
The bypass, planned as part of the alternative road network project between Jayadev Vihar and Nandankanan, aimed to ease traffic on this particular stretch.
The proposal suggested five parallel new bypasses, including the one through Sainik School, to be constructed on each side of the stretch.
The proposal would have seen a straight road constructed through the school, connecting Acharya Vihar with Damana Square. Sainik School apart, some properties of the East Coast Railway have also emerged as obstacles for the proposed road.
"We have got the letter from the chairman of the school's local board of administration and forwarded it to the authority. They have been asked to conduct a survey and submit a revised plan," said an urban development department official.
It is not the first time that the chief secretary was approached to intervene in this matter.
Last December, the school's Old Boys' Association had aired similar grievances. The association had said the proposed road would disturb the serene, tranquil atmosphere of the school.
They also feared that the lives of students and staff members would be in danger as they would have to cross the road several times a day to access various facilities housed on the other side of the proposed road.
A development authority official said they would explore the option of constructing the road from a different perspective.
"The executor for the project has been selected. We will have a deliberation with them as well as the Sainik School authorities to come up an alternative plan," he said.
