BHOPAL: The state culture department might be splurging millions of rupees on organising assorted festivals, conventions, seminars and what not in the capital and elsewhere in the state for inexplicable reasons it has not been able to rebuild ‘Abhirang’ – one of the two indoor auditoria in the prestigious Bharat Bhavan – that was destroyed in a fire in May 2015.
The auditorium, which was mainly used for screening films – is still lying in ruins. The Bhavan is all set to celebrate its 35th Foundation Day with a grand programme that would begin from February 13 and continue till February 26.
The auditorium had caught fire, presumably due to short-circuiting May 2015 and preliminary estimates put the loss at around Rs 2 crore. Sophisticated projection and sound equipment and furniture were gutted in the blaze.
The Bhavan has three auditoria. Two of them – Antarang and Abhirang – are indoor and the third is an amphitheatre called Bahirang. While Antarang can accommodate nearly three hundred persons, Abhirang has the capacity to seat one hundred. Bahirang can accommodate up to 1000 audience.
With ‘Abhirang’ not available, the city artistes are facing problems in renting venue for organising their performances. While the daily rental of ‘Abhirang’ is Rs 4000, it is Rs 8000 for ‘Antarang’. Clearly, renting Abhirang is lighter on the pockets of the artistes. Moreover, the unavailability of Abhirang has lengthened the waiting period for artistes who want to organise events in Bharat Bhavan.
“We have handed over the reconstruction work to CPA and it has begun work. It will be ready by July. The total cost will be Rs 2 crore-plus. Abhirang will have a new flooring and new lighting and sound arrangements. Such works take time”.
Prem Shanker Shukla, Administrative Officer, Bharat Bhavan
