Sankha Bhawan In Bhubaneswar Converted Into Hotel, Claims BJP; BJD Responds With Invite

Bhubaneswar: After irregularities in allotment of land for Sankha Bhawan construction, the BJP on Monday alleged that the BJD headquarters in Bhubaneswar has been unlawfully converted into a restaurant.

Referring to some news report, BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan said this is perhaps for the first time that a party is accused of constructing a hotel on a land allotted to it by the government for ‘office purpose’. “This has led to speculation about reasons behind it. The BJD had reportedly built Sankha Bhawan with donations from corporate houses. Have those donations dried up after it lost power in the state, leading to this situation,” he told a presser.

Pradhan further questioned as to who within the BJD was managing the hotel operations. “In the video doing the rounds on social media, one can see general public having meal for Rs 80 there. A man can be heard saying he had rice, dal and cauliflower curry,” he claimed.

The BJP leader said that Sankha Bhawan may soon take shape of a star hotel with the party headquarters of BJD shifted to some government quarters.

He urged the Mohan Majhi to probe the allegation and cancel the land allotment if found to be true.

Responding to the allegations, BJD MLA Arun Sahoo said that the BJP is resorting to cheap politics. “The BJP should concentrate on running the government. When Sankha Bhawan was established, it was clearly stated it was an office of people. Meetings are being held here almost everyday. There is a canteen on the premises. Along with leaders, several people are coming here for having food. I would also like to invite BJP leaders to the canteen,” he said.

In June, the BJP government had announced a comprehensive investigation into the alleged illegal diversion of a road into homestead land for constructing the BJD office.

One of the four plots, which constitute 1.183 acre of land acquired for construction of Sankha Bhawan, was originally designated for building a road in Ganga Nagar but later converted to homestead land. It was further alleged that the BJD was provided the land at a throwaway price of only Rs 12.94 crore which is much less than the benchmark price of more than Rs 100 crore.

The BJD had then too refuted any wrongdoings and said the allotment was approved by the same high-powered committee that cleared land for the BJP headquarters at Kharavela Nagar.