After Parikrama Project, Odisha Govt Chandi Mandir Plan Sparks Women’s Education Vs Temple Debate

Cuttack: After the Puri Parikrama Project sparked a legal, technical and political storm, the Odisha government’s plan to take away land belonging to a college to develop the Maa Chandi Temple in Cuttack city seems to be heading towards a controversy.

The Old Student Association (Alumni) of Shailabala Women’s Autonomous College here have expressed reservations over the project, which will rob the institute of a part of its playground spread over 3 acre. “Reducing the land would lead to curtailing the growth and future of woman sportspersons and will also seal the fate of this august institution from ever becoming a Heritage University,” the association wrote in a recent letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

It was on May 20, 2021, that the CM okayed a budget of Rs 70 crore for the development of Maa Chandi Temple in the millennium city. The project is being implemented under the Integrated Development of Heritage, Monuments and Tourist Destinations scheme as part of the 5T Initiatives and will be completed within a year.

Naveen also sought the cooperation of Cuttack denizens in the execution of the project, saying the temple has a very important position in the overall development of the city.

The century-old college is located close to the shrine on Madhusudan Road, Cuttack, the silver city of Odisha. It was a gift from Shailabala Das, the adopted daughter of Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das, a lawyer and social reformer who played a stellar role in the formation of the modern state of Odisha in 1936. “The institution was established in 1913 to educate and empower women at a time when they were totally subjugated, crushed and quelled. Hence, establishment of a college for women was a revolutionary act. Today, this college that has educated generations of women not only from Odisha but also from neighbouring states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh (who are highly placed at the national and international levels), is in danger of losing its dignity and status,” the letter said.

Speaking to Odisha Bytes, association vice-president Rosanara Begum, a retired government college teacher, clarified that they are not against the development project but taking away the educational institution’s land will put a spanner on its future development. “The government has been talking about women empowerment and this institute has been the cornerstone of this policy for decades in a city where parents still prefer to send their girls to a women’s college,” she said.

She had also donated Rs 2 lakh under the ‘Mo College’ scheme for developing the playground and with the government’s share of Rs 4 lakh, badminton and basketball courts were to be laid there.

The association had earlier feared that the college might lose a newly-constructed four-storey hostel building and expressed concern over the Culture Department’s claim to the “building that once was the residence of Madhusudan Das and also on a major portion of the frontal area, including the main gate.”

While Roshanara said that these apprehensions of the association have been addressed, the loss of the playground to the project can sound the death knell for one of the oldest colleges in the state and its demand for university status. “This will deny the institute its eligibility to even qualify for assessment of NAAC accreditation as NAAC insists upon fitness for students with indoor and outdoor games and sports activities, including gymnasium and sports hostel. Being the first women’s college in the state and the third in the country it should not be subjected to such disgrace that will reflect on the government itself,” the letter added.

According to the development plan, a stone boundary wall having four gates will be constructed around the temple. The entire surface of the temple will be covered with Khondalite stones, illuminated with lights and landscaped. A yajna mandap (platform), a chandipatha mandap, a mundan (tonsuring) mandap, a Hanuman temple, a discourse hall and a kitchen would also come up.