Hukitola is located on Jambu island in the Bay of Bengal of Mahakalapara Block in Kendrapara District. This building was constructed in the year 1865-66 under the supervision of Chief Irrigation Engineer Hokkey Walker on an elevated land strip in the island for the purpose of food and water reservoir for supplying to various places nearby to cater to the need of people by the Imperial Government during the period of famine in Odisha. It was strengthened on all four sides by boulders. The building which represents European Renaissance architecture has a plinth area of 7000 sq. ft. The building has six big rectangular rooms out of which three rooms have interconnected small adjoining rooms.
The entire building has been constructed with stones that were brought from the Barabati Fort of Cuttack and Churang fort of Barang. In places, the width of the wall varies from two to three feet. The stones which in colour are varied like white, blue, black and green are joined by lime and rubble masonry. In front of the rooms, there is a long veranda with nine arches which give the building an impressive look. On both the ends of the veranda, there are two wells each 12 feet deep which were used for storing sweet rainwater through rainwater harvesting.
History of Hukitola
The roof was made of brick, wood and iron beams. This has a slight slope towards the veranda to facilitate rainwater to flow down to the wells below through iron pipes. This was the only source of sweet water for the sailors and mariners. The island was named Hokkey Tolha after Chief Irrigation Engineer Hokkey Walker. Subsequently, it came to be known as Hukitola. The building served the purpose of a transit unloading point for merchandise brought by ship for several years till the connectivity of roads and railways were developed. The Wildlife Division of the Forest and Environment Department, Govt of Odisha, approached the Indian National Trust For Art And Cultural Heritage (INTACH) to take up the repair, restoration and conservation of the building in 2015 under the ICZMP scheme. Hukitola Jambu island is the best tourist place in Kendrapara, Odisha
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