Agartala, November 23, 2022: Tripura’s Ujjayanta Palace (presently state museum) established in 1901 is going to get a major facelift in coming few months as the Agartala Smart City Limited (ASCL) has undertaken a renovation and restoration project funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) in nine prime components.
The project includes renewal of 1 lakh square metres of open spaces in the Ujjayanta Palace area through beautification of garden spaces, renewing water fountains, renovating the drainage system, developing the lakeside leisure activities and parking.
The project has been awarded to M/s Mecgale Premier World JV with a cost of Rs 35.68 crore and agreement date was on February 9, 2021. Though the construction period was 18 months, the COVID pandemic hindered the work progress and it is expected to be completed early next year.
CEO of the ASCL and Commissioner of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) Dr Shailesh Kumar Yadav on Wednesday visited a parking place on the eastern side of Ujjayanta Palace here in Agartala city. The commissioner was accompanied by corporator Himani Debbarma and a team of officials.
Speaking to media persons here on the sidelines of the inspection, Dr Yadav said “Agartala Smart City Limited has undertaken a project funded by ADB for developing the area in and around the premises of Ujjayanta Palace here. There are several components for beautification on four sides of the Ujjayanta Palace as part of the Agartala Smart City project.”
The components include- revival of North Gate and transformation of Astabal (Swami Vivekananda Maidan), food court, rear garden revival with proposed multi-activity plaza and amphitheatre, visitors parking place, cleaning and revival of twin lakes, eastern lake edge development, water activities on eastern lake, musical fountain and laser show on western lake and gardening at palace’s T-stretch.
He said that the place located opposite to the Manikya Court to Gulab Bagan near North Gate will be reconstructed for opening of small shops as it has been a place for consumption of drugs illegally. A food court will be constructed at the old office premises of the Land Records and Settlement department here in Agartala.
“After the completion all these components under this project, large number of visitors will come to witness the beauty of Ujjayanta Palace and its surrounding areas, so the area of Municipal Corporation located on the backside of the Town Hall and beside ADC Council Bhavan will be transformed into a parking place”, he added.
ASCL’s CEO said “A floating fountain with laser show of 117 metres will be installed in the pond located beside Agartala Press Club and opposite to Jagannath Bari Temple i.e. western lake in front of the palace. On the backside of the the palace, multipurpose amusement park will be developed where cultural events in open environment can be held.”
Earlier, Dr Yadav said “The central government released Rs 294 crore and the state government gave Rs 78 crore for the entire Agartala Smart City project. The total amount stands at Rs 372 crore and out of this, works worth Rs 342 crore has been completed so far. In total, 67 projects were enlisted and among them, 49 have been completed while 17 projects are still going on.”
