Berhampur: The work on the renovation of the Potagada fort in Ganjam district which stands as a witness to the history of Orissa is progressing at a slow pace.
The state government had identified the two hundred and fifty years old Potagada fort in Ganjam district under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP), a World Bank assisted project, to renovate, protect and promote the structure as a tourist spot since 2012.
"Though an amount of Rs 1,15,60,900 has been sanctioned for the purpose, only Rs 17,25,888 has been spent till now," said member state planning board Ram Chandra Panda. "We are planning to further spend Rs 2.5 crore for the beautification and construction of parking, toilet, pathway and other facilities for tourists. The work must be speeded up," Panda said.
"We have repaired the magazine house and the entry gate of the fort. But, a lot have to be done for its peripheral development," said district culture officer Sukuru Swain.
"The construction of Potagada fort was commenced by Edward Costford, the first resident of Ganjam, in 1768. Potagada, also a historic defunct port near Rushikulya river mouth, still attracts students, scholars and history lovers due to its geographical location close to the confluence of river with Bay of Bengal. The Rushikulya river falls into the sea through two channels, one near Gokharkuda and the other near Potagada. Inside the compound there are three residential buildings of three different architectural designs, probably assigned to the Muslims, French and British. Besides, two magazine houses are there. Two passages are there in the eastern side of the compound wall opening to the river. One was probably used as a secret passage to escape into the sea and the other for the queen to go to the river to take bath," said researcher Ananta Ram Kar.
The history of Potagada is the history of the Ganjam collectorate that involves the history of Northern Circars, French Government, Madras Presidency, Bengal Presidency and the history of the East India Company as a whole.
