Govt gave him land, said don’t build on it

Sand sculptor Sudarshan Pattnaik on Saturday returned a piece of land allotted to him by the Odisha government protesting the fact that he had not been allowed to construct anything on it.

Sand sculptor Sudarshan Pattnaik on Saturday returned a piece of land allotted to him by the Odisha government protesting the fact that he had not been allowed to construct anything on it.

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The state government had allotted half an acre land to Pattnaik at Puri, about 60 km east of Bhubaneswar, in 2011 for building a sand art park of international standard after the approval of the state cabinet.

Pattnaik, who met the Puri collector NK Nayak and returned the allotment order, said, “I was happy when the government allotted me the land. But I decided to return when I discovered the terms and conditions barred me from putting up any construction.”

Pattnaik said he was really looking forward to creating a sand art park and training centre for budding artist in Puri, but was forced to take this step since he did not get any response from the government to his request for a change in the terms and conditions.

Nayak said the district administration would enquire and move the higher authorities for an appropriate decision on the matter.

Pattnaik has been a regular in the international sand art competitions and has won several awards. Recently his work ‘Go green, save earth’ won the Danish Grand Prize at Copenhagen.