Bhubaneswar, April 12: Statues of politicians and freedom fighters dot the Bhubaneswar landscape but few seem to have an idea of what the man, who originally designed the city, looked like.
German architect Otto H. Koenigsberger remains faceless for the residents of Bhubaneswar even 67 years after he planned the city, with no memory of him in public space — no statue, road or memorial. Perhaps the only reminder of the man’s contribution is an obscure plaque tucked away in a corner of the state secretariat.
“Successive governments have erected statues of political leaders and former chief ministers across the state but they have conveniently forgotten to honour the man who visualised a modern city that later became the capital of Odisha,” said Baikuntha Patnaik, a 61-year-old retired schoolteacher.
Born in 1908 in Berlin, Koenigsberger trained as an architect there. But with the emergence of Nazi power, he was forced to leave his country. After spending six years in Cairo, he was appointed chief architect and planner of Mysore State (India) in 1939. He has designed the Indian Institute of Science and Victory Hall in Bangalore, besides planning Bhubaneswar in 1946.
One of the founders of modern urban development planning, he served as the director of housing for the Union health ministry in independent India from 1948-51 and left for London two years later where he worked as a professor until his retirement in 1978.
“Forget Bhubaneswar, we hardly even know anything about the state. There should be some facility where the public, especially youths, can learn about the city’s history. Installing a statue or at least a bust of the town planner could be the first step,” said college student Saswati Das, 22.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation commissioner Sanjib Kumar Mishra said according to Supreme Court guidelines, statues could no longer be installed in public areas. “But we can name a street after him. The authorities must take that decision. When the national capital is dubbed Lutyen’s Delhi, why can’t our state capital be called Koenigsberger’s Bhubaneswar?” said Mishra.
