CUTTACK: The proposed project to develop portion of the historic ward no 15 of the British-era jail at Dargha Bazar into a freedom fighters’ memorial museum is yet to take off even after a decade since its foundation stone was laid by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Built in 1881, the prison with a civil ward constituting a room measuring 70 ft X 30 ft to accommodate 100 inmates, functioned as a district jail after creation of separate Bihar and Orissa provinces in 1912. It later was converted into a central jail when Odisha became a separate province in 1936. The jail was then shifted from Cuttack to Choudwar between 1984 and 1988.
Though a major portion of the jail was later demolished by the civic body, ward no 15, which housed eminent freedom fighters like Nabakrushna Choudhury, Harekrushna Mahatab, Gopabandhu Choudhury, Pranakrushna Choudhury, Malati Choudhury, Ramadevi and Annapurna Moharana was spared.
The Cuttack Chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) had planned to convert ward no 15 into an enclosed memorial with a flame and names of all the freedom fighters who were jailed during the Independence struggle, in association with Cuttack Development Authority (CDA).
Although Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for the renovation project on January 23, 2010, the project has not moved an inch since then. The INTACH had repaired the dilapidated ward in 2011-2012. However, lack of proper care and maintenance took a toll on the historic structure.