When many old Indian cities are seeing architecturally rich heritage buildings being pulled down Sambalpur in western Odisha has been renovating many of its legacy buildings and monuments over the past few years. After the restoration of the Rani Mahal of the 17th century fort on the Mahanadi River and the renovation of the house where Assamese novelist, poet, playwright Lakshminath Bezbaruah lived in Sambalpur, it is the turn of the colonial era Victoria Town Hall.
Victoria Town Hall
According to an entry, in the Bengal Gazetteer Sambalpur, by LSS O&rsquoMalley, the Town Hall was built in 1904 to commemorate the reign of Queen Victoria with subscriptions raised for the purpose. Post-independence, it was renamed after noted freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai. Although the building housed educational institutions and government offices in various phases, it was losing its architectural finesse with time. INTACH, which had successfully renovated the other two buildings, was entrusted to turn around the town hall.
If all goes according to plan, the town hall will be house a museum which will focus on the life and culture of western Odisha, media reports said. Sambalpur is famous for its eponymous sari and it is expected the museum will contain displays about the making of the saree and its specialities. According to reports, the museum is likely to be opened in December this year.