Lockdown delays Bezbaroa house renovation

Sambalpur: Renovation of the house of the doyen of Assamese literature Laxminath Bezbaroa at the Nelson Mandela Chowk here has been badly hit due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Earlier, it was expected to be completed by June 30. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) started renovating the house in December 2018.
Bezbaroa lived in Sambalpur for 20 years from 1917 to 1937.He had constructed two houses in the city in 1924. While the eminent Assamese writer was living in one house, he was using the other as office.
Member of INTACH, Sambalpur chapter, Deepak Panda said the renovation work was going on in full swing till the lockdown was imposed. “Work has resumed and if everything goes as per plan, the work would get over by August-end,” he said.
He said currently plastering of the walls is underway. A paste prepared from lime, gum of wood apple and jaggery is being used for the purpose. After completion of the plastering and flooring work, interior work will be undertaken.
Panda said the building will be converted into a library-cum-museum. Books of Bezabaroa besides the books on Bezbaroa will be kept in the library. Moreover, portraits of Bezbaroa, old photographs and artefacts of Odisha and Assam will be displayed in the house so that the people would know about Bezbaroa and his life in Sambalpur. “We have also planned to start the renovation of the other other house of Bezbaroa, where he was living, after work on this house gets over,” he added.
While the Assam government has sanctioned Rs 50 lakh, the Odisha government has given Rs 55 lakh for the renovationof the two buildings.