Cuttack: The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Janata Ranga Manch held a joint press conference at the seven-decade old iconic theatre’s venue at Banka Bazar in Cuttack.
State convener of INTACH Biswajit Mohanty highlighted the historical significance and the current state of decay of this heritage institution which is now in ruins.
Janata Ranga Manch, since its establishment on 1953, has kept alive the theatre culture of Odisha and has continuously contributed to the promotion of plays by eminent playwrights. It had an unstinted record of more than half a century, with regular performances. The Ranga Mancha was destroyed in the Super cyclone of 1999 and since then is working in a temporary makeshift structure.
Deepak Samantaray, co-convener of Intach’s Cuttack Chapter lamented the gradual destruction of the city’s heritage. He said the Ranga Manch was once the pride and glory of the millennium city, and all efforts should be taken up for declaring it as a Heritage institution.
Indrajit Ghosh emphasised the institution’s role since and said that is has been the bedrock of Odisha’s theatre culture. Granting it Heritage status is essential to honour its continuous contribution to the arts.
Advisor of the Manch, Ananga Dwivedi said Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, when he was the Collector of Cuttack, had visited this Janata Ranga Manch and had proposed to establish an Adarsh Natya Sanghralaya with all-round development and renovation of the Ranga Manch.
Filmmaker Subash Rath said that the revival of this institution should be progressed for posterity as an icon of the theatre movement in the state.
Intach’s Anil Dhir said has said they will try to get Heritage Status for the old theatre. Intach will write a collective appeal to the government, stressing that the dilapidated Janata Ranga Manch is a living archive of Odia theatre since 1953 and is facing irreversible decay without state intervention. It will urge to authorities to declare the Janata Ranga Manch a Heritage Site and expedite comprehensive restoration and development plans.
