British cemetery in Mahanadi delta to be restored
Years of neglect has left the cemetery in ruins.
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| (Photo courtesy: The Telegraph) |
A Victorian era cemetery situated in another heritage structure in the Mahanadi delta in Orissa’s Kendrapara district is to be restored.
Years of neglect has left the cemetery in the premises of False-point Lighthouse in ruins.
Both the structures are corroding fast under the impact of atmospheric salinity with the sea located close by and vandals defacing them with impunity in the absence of any protective barrier.
However, authorities have now decided to revamp the entire lighthouse complex with the British cemetery.
Kendrapara district Collector Pradipta Kishore Patnaik said the area would be developed and given a facelift to attract tourists as part of a central plan.
"The restoration of the lighthouse and the cemetery has immense potential for eco-tourism," the collector said.
As per records, the lighthouse was commissioned in 1838 and though the age of the cemetery is not mentioned, its origin is presumed to be around that date.
The gravestones in the cemetery carry inscriptions of the late lighthouse staff and their families.
Prominent among them was Captain H A Harris, conservator of Orissa ports, who met a watery grave in May, 1877. His memory is treasured in the cemetery.
The then collector of Balashore, John Beames, in his autobiography "Memoirs of a Bengal Civilian" says that the Britons had met their untimely end because of illnesses as the area was quite inhospitable and inaccessible at that time.
Vasudev Das, a researcher, said the autobiography illustrates vividly the False-point Lighthouse and the British cemetery.
Source: outlook
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