First In Odisha: Portable Fibre House Made In Cuttack Promises Alternative Housing Solution

A house is not just a roof over the head but much more than that. Everyone loves to own a dream house and while many toil hard all life to realise it, some others are not that fortunate. 

Nowadays with life on the move becoming a norm, house has come to assume different connotations. Comfort apart, aesthetics, efficient energy consumption and compatibility are some of the other factors a household aspires to have in a house.

The preference for more home solutions has resulted in new stereotypes in the housing sector like never before. Setting a new trend, an engineer from Cuttack and his daughter have introduced fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) houses for the first time in Odisha.  

The most significant feature of the prefabricated fibre house is its portability which means the entire structure can be moved to another location in case of need.  
Kajal Patnaik, a civil engineer by profession and his daughter Swasti have so far built three fibre plastic houses with different sizes and designs at their factory, SS Kajal Kraft Pvt Ltd at Telengapentha after commencing works in July this year. 

FRP houses are not only suitable for coastal areas where collateral damages during natural disasters like cyclones can be minimised but these are also quake proof and have good fire resistance ability, Kajal said while explaining the advantages of the user-friendly houses.

Kajal said his 22-year old fashion designer daughter was the inspiration behind the new home solution in the State where the need for affordable and durable houses had been felt for long.

"If people in other countries have successfully adopted these types of houses, why can’t we build those here? I have been in this field for over 15 years as an engineer. During that period I helped people with interior and outer decoration of their houses and parks. It was my daughter Swasti who helped me introduce this new concept with success," said Kajal. 

Swasti said that they have so far crafted three such houses: one of 100 sq feet and the rest two of 180 sq feet and 240 sq feet area, respectively. While the 100 sq feet house costs Rs 1.20 lakh, the 240 sq feet structure comes with a price tag of Rs 3 lakh.

"FRP houses have already become a trend in other countries in the last two to three decades. I thought why not try this idea in our State? We have all the necessary raw materials and enough skilled manpower available here. So we went ahead in implementing this concept," Swasti told OTV. 

Explaining the usefulness of the makeshift homes, she said the FRP house comes handy for government, private entities as well as individual needs. In view of the rising demand for temporary lodging facility at tourist places, where cottages are presently constructed, FRP may offer better and affordable solution," she claimed.