Odisha Bhawan, situated within the coronary heart of Delhi’s diplomatic space and the oldest government-run guesthouse, is to be demolished by December, because the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has marked it to be structurally weak.
The demolition of the 44-year-old constructing, which is but to start, has been pending since 2020 when a structural security audit of government-owned buildings was carried out by NDMC. It was then that Odisha Bhawan was discovered to be structurally weak and past restore. Nonetheless, it continued to welcome visitors till a month in the past, because the then NDMC report had acknowledged that it ought to be demolished inside two to 3 years.
The Odisha Bhawan has 24 rooms, a restaurant, and a fitness center. Over time, prime dignitaries from the Odisha authorities, similar to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, performing Chief Justice of Odisha Excessive Court docket, Chakradhari Sharan Singh, in addition to former Governor Raghubar Das have stayed right here throughout their visits to the Capital.
For staffers of Odisha Bhawan, the choice is bittersweet.
Praful Kumar Sahu has been working on the Bhawan as a receptionist since 1990. “At first, we felt emotional as a result of a constructing that had develop into our residence was going to be demolished. However most of us are going to retire inside a 12 months, so it doesn’t hassle us anymore,” he mentioned.
Jagish, who has been working as a waiter for 32 years, mentioned, “The Odisha Bhawan has lived a full life… we would like our state to even have a grand bhawan. We’ve heard that the brand new constructing could have practically 100 rooms.”
Narahari Maohapatri has been working as a member of the housekeeping employees for the final 28 years.
“No cracks are seen on the partitions as a result of now we have been repeatedly getting the constructing painted… But it surely’s an outdated constructing… It’s the oldest Bhawan in Delhi and can also be among the many oldest in India. No new employees has been employed ever because it was declared to be structurally weak.”
He added that as all staffers at Odisha Bhawan are set to retire quickly, they’ve been advised they will spend their remaining time working at Odisha Niwas.
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