The only waste to art museum of the State which is located in Bhubaneswar is now lying in a dilapidated condition and crying for attention from the State government.
The park, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in November, 2018, is in a shambles now.
The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in association with Artists Network Promoting Indian Culture (ANPIC) had constructed the open air sculpture museum on five acres of land at Ghatikia in the State capital.
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Rusted irons, rods, waste steels and aluminum, old bicycles, tins, key rings, broken utensils and other scrap materials were used to design sculptures of different animals and insects which formed the main attraction in the museum. It also featured several statues fashioned from scrap metals with a theme ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ by artists from as many as 16 countries.
But surprisingly, after functioning for few months, the museum is now gathering dust. The BDA which had approved land for the multi-crore park has stopped looking after the maintenance citing the museum is yet to get all necessary clearance.
"The Electricity department said a no to the park due to high-tension wire above it. After that we did not focus much on the museum. The cyclone Fani has also damaged the park," said Ashok Nanda Dhar, chief horticulturist, BDA.
Meanwhile questions have been raised, if there was high-tension power lines over the land, on what circumstances the BDA had provided land to set up the park.
"Artists from 16 countries and from Odisha created the sculptures and crores of rupees were spent for the museum. Now it is lying in ramshackle state due to lack of preservation. The park should be revamped soon," said a local.
However, ANPIC officials could not be contacted to comment on the matter.