BALASORE: In an age when people get little time for themselves, a man of Balasore has preserved the memories of the unsung hero of Balasore, Jatindranath Mukherjee - popularly known as Baghajatin.
Meet Maguni Charan Dash, a 69-year-old native of Jankharai village here. Dash has developed a park on a five acre patch, installed statues and constructed a memorial at Chasakhand, nearly 10 km from Balasore, the place where the martyr had fought the British soldiers. The park has been attracting travel buffs from Orissa and West Bengal in the last five years. The park is agog with a activities every year on September 10 -- the death anniversary of the martyr -- as freedom fighters and dignitaries from West Bengal and from across Orissa come here to pay homage to the unsung freedom fighter. A scene depicting the fight of Baghajatin with British soldiers in a forested area at Chaskada constructed in concrete inside the park is a major draw among visitors. On and average 500 people visit the place every month, said Maguni, a Class-V drop out.
‘’For the park I gave up a private job, closed down a garage, sold two acres of agricultural land and spent the money for the park’’, said Maguni. With more than Rs 5 lakh loan to be repaid and nearly Rs 10,000 per month required to maintain the park, he meets the rest of the expenses from his pocket. ‘’I earn Rs 5,000 from the tourists per month on an average,’’ he said.
A moving moment in the early 70s prompted Maguni to think of a park for the unsung hero. ‘’Freedom fighters from West Bengal had come here to pay tribute to Baghajatin and threw the flowers in the river that passes though Chasakhand as they couldn’t go there due to flood. That day itself I decided to connect the place with an all-weather road and develop it as a tourist destination,’’ Maguni recalled.
While one Pannalal Dasgupta from Kolkata arranged a statue of the martyr, a building has been constructed for Rs 2 lakh from the District Rural Development Agency and funds from ex-MLAs Arun Dey and Pradipta Panda. Ex-MP Kharabela Swain contributed Rs 4 lakh for a rest house, Maguni added.
Maguni now aims to establish a library-cum-museum here for which another three-acres is required. Though the district administration has proposed the place to be declared as a tourist spot the State Government is yet to notify it, he puts in.