Maritime Museum is now more citizens friendly

 Odisha State Maritime Museum was set up at the Jobra Workshop. This location, which has a beginning around 1869 has the unique distinction of being the only workshop, which catered to the requirement of three provinces of Bihar, Bengal and Odisha under the Bengal Presidency of British India.

The British administration took up the work of excavating the Coast Canal, Taladanda Canal and other irrigation projects to counter the effects of drought. This workshop was mainly to manufacture boats and vessels to be used while navigating anicuts, dams, canals and most important inland water transport system. At that time the access to Calcutta from Cuttack was only through a journey on river Mahanadi to the False Point near Paradeep and on sea up to Calcutta or from Chandabali to Calcutta.

People visiting the museum can see boat building techniques used in the past and also have glimpses of historical events of Odisha’s rich maritime past.

He museum has recently become more citizen friendly as it has revised its ticket rates for students below age 14 and made it free for differently-abled persons. There is now an aquarium installed in the museum.