EXPENSIVE AVATAR: Laban Hrad Mancha in BD Park

Laban Hrad Mancha will reopen on April 15 with a nearly three-fold hike in rent.

The two-storeyed hall in BD Park, which is the oldest in the township, has been shut for renovation since August.

Now it has got its 450 seats replaced by more comfortable ones, the carpets have changed, the terrace has been repaired to stop water leakage, its two green rooms have got renovated and the hall has been painted blue and white. But the most significant improvement is that the hall has now been fitted with 10 air conditioners.

But all this has shot up the hall’s rent from the previous Rs 3,500 to Rs 10,000 for five hours. “An additional refundable security deposit of Rs 2,000 will have to be paid as well. The hall will not be rented out for more than five hours a day,” said local councillor Anupam Dutta.

While the renovation is welcome, some residents are complaining that the hiked rent is exorbitant. “It was a good idea to install the AC. Since BD Hall would be too hot, especially in summer, we have not held an event there for nearly two years,” says Sonali Das of Chhayanat, a cultural group which has been holding shows in Okakura Bhavan and Natyasodh Sansthan in EE Block in recent months. “But I doubt we’ll return there if they charge Rs 10,000. For that kind of money, we can hold shows in the heart of the city.”

Then there are groups like Salt Lake Theatre, that have been holding drama festivals at BD Hall for a decade. “It was only last winter when the hall was closed that we were forced to move to EZCC. Most of our patrons live around BD Block and we would have returned there even if the rate was around Rs 7,000. But we cannot spend Rs 10,000 and hope to recover the money as the number of seats in the hall has not increased. People won’t buy tickets if we charge them too high,” says Hirak Suvra Chatterjee, president and director of the group.

Laban Hrad Mancha was built by the urban development department in the 80s and handed over to the municipality in the tenure of former civic chief Biswajiban Majumdar. This is the first renovation since then. It cost the municipality Rs 70 lakh.

Most of the work on the hall is complete and the pathway from the park’s gate to the hall is being paved. BD Park too lies dug up, reportedly for “beautification”. Local MLA Sujit Bose and a host of councillors are expected to visit on Poila Baisakh for the opening at 10am. Hall bookings will resume from April 16 at Poura Bhavan.