The Red Cross Town Hall, built to host social and government programs in the Dharmagarh area at a low cost, has become the center of discussion again today. A tender was floated in 2024 for the renovation of this town hall, which has a history of almost two decades, at a cost of Rs. 2.77 crore, but the work has not been completed yet, leading to growing dissatisfaction among the residents of the area.
The design of the Dharmagarh Red Cross Town Hall began in 2004 during the tenure of the then Deputy Collector V. K. Pandian. Later, in 2009, the then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid its foundation stone. On 15 January 2013, the then MP Bhakta Charan Das dedicated it to the public. For a few years after the dedication, various programs including government meetings, social programs, weddings, awareness meetings, etc. were regularly held in this town hall. From this, the Red Cross organization also received significant revenue in the form of rent.
Over time, the condition of the town hall had deteriorated and the local people had raised a demand for its renovation. During the visit of the Chairman of the Western Odisha Development Council to Dharmagarh, the then MLA Mousudi Bagh and the local residents had raised this issue. Subsequently, in 2024, the Public Works Department invited tenders at a cost of about Rs. 2.77 crore. The project proposed to provide civil works, electrification, new transformers, drinking water supply and complete air conditioning (AC) system.
According to the complaint, the fact that the tender was in the name of one contractor while some of the work was done by another contractor has become a matter of discussion in the locality. Although the external renovation and painting work of the town hall is almost complete, the main internal work, electrical system, air conditioning and other facilities have not been completed.
On the other hand, according to the contractor who won the tender, only about Rs 1 crore 41 lakh out of the total Rs 2.77 crore has been received as funds, so the work has been done accordingly. Since the remaining funds have not been received, it has not been possible to complete the work.
When contacted on this issue, the junior engineer supervising the work did not immediately respond and said that he would talk to him later.
With the rapid development of Dharmagarh city, the number of government and private programs is increasing, the need for a well-decorated town hall is becoming more and more felt. As lakhs of rupees are spent on private welfare halls for weddings and other social programs, financially weak families are facing financial problems. Therefore, the locals believe that if this town hall is made operational soon, it will be a great relief to the common people.
In this regard, the demand of the local people is that a high-level investigation should be conducted by the district administration and the public works department to find out why the project is stalled in the middle, what is the real reason for the delay in funds and whether there have been any irregularities in the work. The residents of the area have also demanded that the remaining funds be sanctioned quickly and the renovation work of the town hall be completed and opened to the public.
This issue is also being discussed in the political arena. Some people at the local level are saying— “The government changed, the legislators changed, the color of the town hall changed; but the work has not been completed yet.”
