The glorious royal heritage of Odisha may soon sink into oblivion if the present trend of indifference by authorities concerned continues. A pointer to the neglect is the century-old Jeypore Palace, the entrance of which caved in on Sunday. The entire structure is dilapidated for want of maintenance either by the royal family or the government. While palaces in the other parts of the country have become tourist draws, most of the palaces in Odisha are lying orphaned.
Of the 55 palaces in the State, some belong to the 24 princely states (Gadajat Rajya) while others were owned by zamindars. Facing the same fate of Jeypore palace are the royal structures of Talcher, Pallahara, Athamallik and Ranpur. A few years back, the old Nilagiri Palace crumbled. Sources in the District Culture Office of Talcher said the architecture of ‘Mukhashala’ (entrance gate) of Talcher Palace is one of its kind in the country. Even as this palace was renovated to some extent by the royal family, a complete makeover remains a dream in the absence of funds. Most of the erstwhile kings are not rich enough to maintain their palaces. To make things worse, the State Government does not have a policy under which preservation and conservation of these age-old structures can be taken up. Even the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities, a project launched by the Centre in 2007 and attached to the ASI, seems to have hit a roadblock as far as palaces and colonial structures in Odisha are concerned. Reason: With no financial help from the Government to maintain the heritage structures, not many royal families are willing to come forward to participate in the documentation drive. The Intach, which is in charge of documenting antiquities in personal possession, including palaces, has listed only around 2,500 antiquities so far. State convenor of Intach AB Tripathy said lack of cooperation from officials in the palaces has prevented researchers from having a look into antiques stored in them.
Maharaja of Nilagiri, Jayant Chandra Mardaraj Harichandan, said mere documentation of antiquities in palaces would be of no help in restoration of the structures. “Neither the State Government nor the ASI has once come forward to help in maintaining palaces anywhere in the State notwithstanding the fact that crores of rupees are
being spent for preservation of temples,” said Harichandan. Braj Keshari Deo, Maharaja of Aul, echoed similar views. “Palaces are huge structures and the kings do not have the wherewithal to maintain them. Like Gujarat, Rajasthan and MP, the Odisha Government should come forward to explore tourism potential and provide soft loans to royal families to restore and maintain them. Only then can the situation change,” he said.
