SAMBALPUR: Even though Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) had set a target to complete three Kalyan Mandaps here by October last year, work on two mandaps is yet to be completed.
While the construction of Kalyan Mandap at Rasanpur in Maneswar area has been completed, work on the mandaps at Burla and Baijamunda is yet to be finished. The objective of constructing these structures is to provide venue to city dwellers at reasonable price for organising social functions.
Each Kalyan Mandap is being developed over an area of 4,000 sq ft at an estimated cost of `50 lakh by the Public Works Department (PWD). The fund has been provided by the SMC to PWD for construction of three Kalyan Mandaps.
At present, there is a Kalyan Mandap at Hirakud which is being run by the municipal corporation while the newly constructed mandap at Bhima Bhoi Nagar has been made operational a few months back.
This apart, the district administration manages a mandap at Jail Chowk and charges `3,400 as rent per day. The mandap was in demand due to ample parking space. However, indifferent attitude of the administration coupled with lack of maintenance has led to deterioration of the mandap. Since 2010, nobody offered to book it for social functions.
At present, the mandap is being used as Aahaar Centre after basic renovation work was undertaken by the district administration.
With organising weddings and social functions at private Kalyan Mandaps getting costlier, construction of these new structures is bound to provide some relief to the city dwellers.
SMC Deputy Commissioner Sudhansu Kumar Bhoi said work on Baijamunda Kalyan Mandap has been completed while the approach road to it and periphery development work is underway.
The work on Kalyan Mandap at Burla is going on in full swing and both the mandaps will be made operational within two months, he added.