Cuttack admn informs HC about safety, security of Satyabrata Stadium | Bhubaneswar News
Cuttack: Cuttack collector informed the Orissa high court on Thursday that the Archaeological Survey of India, Puri circle, will soon reinforce the safety and security arrangements to prevent the Satyabrata Stadium ground inside the Barabati Fort from being used as a haven by anti-socials after sunset.
In an affidavit, collector (Cuttack) Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde said a slew of remedial measures has been decided upon at a joint meeting of all stakeholders held in pursuance of the court’s order “to suggest remedial measures to restore the glory of Satyabrata Stadium, which is also popularly known as village ground.”
With Shinde as convenor, the joint meeting was held in the presence of DCP Jagmohan Meena, CMC commissioner Anama Charan Patra, and superintending archaeologist of ASI (Puri Circle) Dibishada Brajasundar Garnayak after a spot visit on Dec 9. Shinde said as part of the remedial measures, ASI (Puri circle) “will take necessary steps for the replacement of the damaged turnstile gate with a new MS Grill Gate having locking arrangements” and “will take steps for fixing concertina fencing over the roadside boundary wall to stop trespassing.”
“While the ASI will also provide security guards from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, the stadium will be kept open from sunrise to sunset as per the provision of ASI, and DCP Cuttack will make night patrolling and provide police personnel to prevent nuisance caused by anti-socials,” the collector stated in the affidavit.
CMC will take steps for trimming trees inside the stadium, install streetlights, and provide cleaning staff on a regular basis to keep the stadium garbage-free, he added. The special bench dealing with civic problems in Cuttack took up the issue after the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) sought the court’s intervention, alleging apathy of the authorities towards illegal activities like the consumption of liquor by anti-socials inside Satyabrata Stadium grounds.
Taking the affidavit on record, the division bench of Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Justice V Narasingh fixed Dec 19 for taking stock of the implementation of the remedial measures. Though declared a protected site in 1915, ASI staked its claim over the Barabati Fort area only in 1989 on the occasion of the millennium celebration of Cuttack. Over 50 per cent of the 100 acres, which was declared protected, were by then encroached by govt constructions.
The ASI stepped up its efforts to clear the fort premises in 2005. As part of the retrieval process, the ASI took over part of Satyabrata Stadium, under the department of sports and youth affairs, which was constructed in one part of the premises years after the Orissa Council of Sports came up in 1957. The ASI initially served notices for demolishing the sports complex to develop a garden and an avenue on the south-eastern side of the historic site but later decided to allow sports activities in 2007. The decision was taken after considering the sentiments of sportspersons and allied organisations.
In an affidavit, collector (Cuttack) Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde said a slew of remedial measures has been decided upon at a joint meeting of all stakeholders held in pursuance of the court’s order “to suggest remedial measures to restore the glory of Satyabrata Stadium, which is also popularly known as village ground.”
With Shinde as convenor, the joint meeting was held in the presence of DCP Jagmohan Meena, CMC commissioner Anama Charan Patra, and superintending archaeologist of ASI (Puri Circle) Dibishada Brajasundar Garnayak after a spot visit on Dec 9. Shinde said as part of the remedial measures, ASI (Puri circle) “will take necessary steps for the replacement of the damaged turnstile gate with a new MS Grill Gate having locking arrangements” and “will take steps for fixing concertina fencing over the roadside boundary wall to stop trespassing.”
“While the ASI will also provide security guards from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, the stadium will be kept open from sunrise to sunset as per the provision of ASI, and DCP Cuttack will make night patrolling and provide police personnel to prevent nuisance caused by anti-socials,” the collector stated in the affidavit.
CMC will take steps for trimming trees inside the stadium, install streetlights, and provide cleaning staff on a regular basis to keep the stadium garbage-free, he added. The special bench dealing with civic problems in Cuttack took up the issue after the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) sought the court’s intervention, alleging apathy of the authorities towards illegal activities like the consumption of liquor by anti-socials inside Satyabrata Stadium grounds.
Taking the affidavit on record, the division bench of Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Justice V Narasingh fixed Dec 19 for taking stock of the implementation of the remedial measures. Though declared a protected site in 1915, ASI staked its claim over the Barabati Fort area only in 1989 on the occasion of the millennium celebration of Cuttack. Over 50 per cent of the 100 acres, which was declared protected, were by then encroached by govt constructions.
The ASI stepped up its efforts to clear the fort premises in 2005. As part of the retrieval process, the ASI took over part of Satyabrata Stadium, under the department of sports and youth affairs, which was constructed in one part of the premises years after the Orissa Council of Sports came up in 1957. The ASI initially served notices for demolishing the sports complex to develop a garden and an avenue on the south-eastern side of the historic site but later decided to allow sports activities in 2007. The decision was taken after considering the sentiments of sportspersons and allied organisations.
