Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has ordered an interim stay on a notification of state Tourism department to rename Tarabalo hot spring in Bhapur block of Nayagarh district.
A division bench of Chief Justice KS Jhaveri and KR Mahapatra ordered that the Tourism department cannot take any decision on the issue till further order. The bench posted the next hearing of the case to February 18.
The state government had issued a notification in 2017 to rename Tarabalo as Nilakandar hot spring. Challenging the notification, Dhaneswar Pradhan and 29 other villagers had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) at the HC.
Earlier, the petitioners informed the HC that Tarabola hot spring, located on a hilly terrain spread over 15 acres, is a well-known tourist destination in state. Many people from across the state visit Tarabalo to take a bath in the hot spring, located close to Goddess Ketakeswari shrine.
It is believed that people get rid of skin diseases after bathing in the hot spring. According to the petitioners, Tarabalo hot spring and Goddess Ketakeswari shrine have found a place in the map of Geological Survey of India. Moreover, the Town and Country Planning Organisation of the Union Ministry of Urban Development had prepared a master plan to develop infrastructure at Tarabalo.
Similarly, the state Tourism and Culture department had accorded a tourism spot status to Tarabalo in 1994, the petitioners informed the court.
They also pleaded that any move to rename the hot spring would create unnecessary confusion among the tourists. Besides, the renaming process would lead to several changes in the tourism map and other documents.
The HC had earlier directed the Union Tourism secretary, state Tourism department secretary and Nayagarh Collector to submit their replies on the issue.
