B.V.S. BHASKAR
Kandukuri’s Town Hall, the first town hall in the State with an open auditorium, constructed by social reformer Kandukuri Veeresalingam Pantulu in 1891, is an instance of the utter neglect of historical monuments in Rajahmundry.
The Town Hall now reminds one of those spooky buildings shown in horror movies. The structure that sits in the heart of the town, dedicated by the great social reformer for public purpose, is not serving the purpose at all. Pantulu had stated that of the two big rooms in the Town Hall, one should be allotted exclusively for playing billiards and another room would house a library. He had also said that the Trust Board had to maintain a flower garden and all the expenditure should be met from the rents coming from the six shops constructed in front of the Town Hall. Now, there are two table tennis boards where top national and international player Anchanta Kamal, his father and top player once practised.
The billiards room is now in shambles. In total, 35 to 40 youngsters come regularly to play on the two billiards boards, which are in poor condition. There is no coach to train these youngsters. Only one clerk is there who collects Rs. 40 a day from each player. With no one to oversee the functioning of the facility, some of the players even use ordinary bamboo sticks to shoot the ball. The library has hundreds of rare books.
There are no patrons and we fail every time in getting funds from the people’s representatives to develop the Town Hall.
Y.S. Naraismha Rao,Hitakarini Samajam secretary
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