BHUBANESHWAR, Oct 7 : The Dak Bungalow at Mahatab Road, the oldest colonial vestige of Bhubaneswar, is slated for demolition for the construction of a Kalyan Mandap, heritage expert Anil Dhir said.
The Prachi Division has been allocated a sum of Rs 2.60 crores, and groundwork has been started, he claimed.
Built sometime in 1850 for the convenience of British officers, the Dak Bungalow has an interesting history.
It was also the staging point for mail runners of the Imperial Mail Service. For years it served as a makeshift courthouse for proceedings held by the British officials.
The many properties in the Old Town that were taken up by the gentry of Bengal under the draconian Sunset Law were auctioned at this place, Dhir said.
It was also used by the surveyors of the Great Indian Trigonometrical Survey held between 1840-1870. The Bengal Nagpur Railways engineers too had used the place when the railway was being laid.
The modest two-roomed bungalow was set in thickly wooded plot with a well and two outhouses for the Khansama and Chowkidar.
The large walled compound was dotted with trees, many fruit-bearing and others for shade. Just a single tamarind tree remains.
Dhir said the Dak Bungalow was renovated during the visit of Lord Curzon in 1899; it was from here that he went to the Curzon Tower to view the Lingaraj Temple.
The place has been known as the Dakabangala Chhak since ages. Old-timers tell of the times when leopards would come and rest in the veranda.
The Dak Bungalow was converted into the Settlement office and remained as the R.I office for years before a new adjoining building was made.
This building, which has been witness to so much history and has survived the vicissitudes of time lies neglected. Locals say that the place is haunted, with its share of strange paranormal happenings.
Old-timers recollect that there were two graves of Englishmen inside the compound, however no trace of them can be found.
Dhir said the INTACH has been persistently writing to the Odisha government about the neglect of this historic structure.
The INTACH had formed a team inspected the abandoned place and submitted a report.
As per the report, the building was found to be structurally intact, the thick walls and the wooden roof beams are undamaged.
The building,Dhir said, could be easily restored with some conservation efforts. Even the out houses and the horse stable are in a restorable condition.
Built of thick laterite stone blocks and chunsurkhi, the walls have little damage except for the peeling plaster.
Dhir, also the Convener of INTACH’s Bhubaneswar Chapter has unearthed many accounts of the Englishmen who had stayed here for months, convalescing from diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.
Many physicians of Calcutta would recommend patients go to Bhubaneswar and imbibe the therapeutic mineral waters of the well inside the Kedar Gouri temple complex.
It was believed that the water had curative and rejuvenating properties. A two-storied sanatorium had been made near the present day Ravi Talkies, which too catered to the convalescing Britishers.
Unfortunately it was demolished ten years ago and a block of flats has come up at the place.
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