City Planetarium to get a makeover soon

BHUBANESWAR: People will soon get a better viewing of cosmological events as the Pathani Samanta Planetarium here is getting a long-awaited facelift. The planetarium has been closed since August 23 for renovation. Funds for the renovation work have been allocated by the State Government in this year’s budget. Sources said the work will be carried out in two phases. At present, repair works of the building and other amenities inside the planetarium are being carried out. “Besides repair work, the seating and the AC arrangements are being changed and all these works will be over by October-end,” said Deputy Director of the Planetarium Subhendu Patnaik. The number of seats in the planetarium will be enhanced to 200 from 140 and the screen of the auditorium converted into one like that in the multiplexes. In the second stage, which will begin from November first week, a higher-end digital planetarium projector will be installed in the theatre. The digital projector, which will be procured from the US at a cost of `4.5 crore, is reportedly the first-of-its- kind in the eastern India.“The previous projector was installed in 1988. The equipment was developing technical snags frequently and  had become obsolete,” Patnaik said.  Previously, the planetarium was able to screen just two films a day but with the new digital facility, any number of films can be screened with 3D motion effects. “On demand, the shows can also be changed immediately,” he said.  While  repair and renovation works are being carried out by the Idco at a cost of `1.04 crore, installation of the projector will be done under the supervision of a high-level technical committee formed by the Science & Technology Department. The committee includes directors of Nehru Centre, Mumbai, Birla Planetarium, Kolkata, and Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. It is being headed by Prof. Trilochan Pradhan, former director of Institute of Physics.  “We will most likely open the renovated planetarium on December 13 marking the birth anniversary of Pathani Samanta,” said Patnaik.