This story is from December 8, 2016

Few takers for show on Netaji

Not a single light and sound show has been staged at the Netaji Birthplace Museum due to poor turnout of people in 2016.The project was launched in 2013 for Rs 30 lakhs.
Few takers for show on Netaji
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
CUTTACK: Not a single light and sound show has been staged at the Netaji Birthplace Museum due to poor turnout of people in 2016. The project was launched in 2013 for Rs 30 lakhs. "The light and sound show equipment are lying unused for the last one year," said a museum official.
If the shows are not held regularly and equipments remain unutilized for a long period then obviously machines will turn defunct soon, said a museum staff.

Though the museum attracts many visitors during the day, nobody turns up to witness the evening light and sound show, which starts at 6.45 pm and concludes at 7.15pm. Sources said while the museum attracts around 50,000 visitors a year but so far only 1,920 visitors, mostly locals, have seen the show.
Locals have alleged that the light and sound project has flopped due to apathetic attitude of government and callousness of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC). Corporator Arun Sethi said as the approach road to the museum is poorly lit, it becomes perfect hangout zone for anti-socials in the evening and nobody dares to visit the museum after sunset. "To resolve the problem, the tourism department had decided to construct a park near the museum at a cost of Rs 50 lakh. But even after a year of announcement of the project, CMC is yet to start work. My repeated appeals to start the project has fallen on deaf ears," alleged Sethi.
The light and sound show could have turned a perfect tourist destination but due to lackadaisical attitude of authorities the project has turned a failure, alleged Shakeel Ahmed, a resident of Odia Bazaar.
The 25-minute light and sound programme showcases interesting incidents of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's childhood and early life. Each visitor has to pay Rs 15 for the show.
However, authorities have claimed that steps will be taken to resume the show. "I will convene a meeting soon to discuss the problems related to light and sound show and will resolve it at the earliest," said Sanghmitra Satpathy, secretary, Netaji Birthplace Museum Trust.
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