Cuttack: The state government has cleared the land within the boundary wall of the Shailabala Women's College for the construction of the third pillar of the millennium city gate.
The millennium city gate is a project for a concrete gateway towering 37ft high with clearance of 19ft each on the existing two-lane road in front of Cuttack Chandi Mandir.
The foundation stone of the project was laid on April 4, 2017, and the construction work had started after two months. The construction of two concrete pillars was completed in November but the work on the third pillar of the gateway could not start. The project hit a hurdle over location of the third pillar of the gate adjacent to the western boundary wall of the state-run Shailabala Women's College.
As the third pillar had to match the other two pillars with a diameter of 4feet another 6feet land was needed for constructing it to maintain the 19feet clearance on each of the existing two-lane road. But no land on the roadside was available as the western boundary wall ran along the roadside.
But the hurdle was removed with the state government giving the land within the boundary wall of the Shailabala Women's College for construction of the third pillar of the gate.
Executive engineer of Cuttack Roads and Building Division, M.R. Khan, said on Friday that work on the project had been resumed with the construction of the third pillar."We aim to complete the the gate by the end of April. But two more months will be required to give finishing touches to the gate," Khan said.
Cuttack Roads and Building Division is the executing body for the project aimed to commemorate the city's old past. The estimated cost of the project is 1crore. The structure will be the first of its kind. Though Cuttack celebrated 1000 years way back in 1989 there was no memento anywhere in the city to remind it of its glorious past.An official source said Mahanadi Coalfields Limited has provided Rs 70 lakh for the project while the state government is providing the rest of the project cost.
