BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has requested Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to preserve the old Paralakhemundi railway station and grant it heritage status.
It is the first railway station of the state and a new one that is coming up near it is being constructed on a raised platform that overshadows the existing structure. In a letter to Vaishnaw on Monday, state convenor of INTACH AB Tripathy suggested the old railway station should not be demolished to pave way for the new one.
While the new building is being built on the lines of the older structure, the original building has a lot of historical and heritage value, Tripathy said, adding it is not only the first railway station of the state but also an important railway landmark of the nation. The old building of the station master, which is in restorable condition, should be converted into a museum and all artefacts related to the station be displayed there.
The goods shed at Paralakhemundi station is a unique heritage structure which also needs preservation. Demanding that at least two of the original heritage locomotives of the Paralakimedi Light Railway (PRL railway section) should be brought back and properly plinthed at the railway station, the INTACH regional head said the 1899 built royal carriage used by the royal family of Paralakhemundi which is kept at the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at Nagpur should also be brought back for display at the station. Around seven of the original locomotives of PRL are lying scattered at places which have no relevance to Paralakhemundi.
Tripathy also requested the minister to consider running a new train from Baripada to Paralakhemundi connecting north and south Odisha. “This will be a fitting tribute to two pioneers of the railways in Odisha, KCIE Maharaja Goura Chandra Gajapati and Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo,” he said. This can be a heritage train which will traverse the length of Odisha touching historic cities of Balasore, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Berhampur.
Meanwhile, INTACH will bring out a pictorial book on the history and heritage of PRL which would be released when the new railway station is inaugurated.