Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, April 29: The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday urged the Union government to accord heritage-site tag to Harishankar-Nrusinghnath and Gandhamardhan region of western Orissa.
“Gandhamardhan hills along with the twin temples of Harishankar and Nrusinghnath constitute one huge socio-cultural as well as spiritual and natural region that deserves to be preserved as such. This site should be conserved as a heritage site by the Centre because of its mythical connection to the Ramayana, historical connection to Buddhism and more than 500 years of spiritual history,” BJP state unit president KV Singhdeo wrote to Union tourism and culture minister Mahesh Sharma.
The local communities, both tribal and non-tribal, have been instrumental in preserving the rich biodiversity of the area, which includes more than 500 species of medicinal and aromatic plants and herbs, Singhdeo said.
These herbs are the main source of indigenous knowledge of healing for around 50,000 people living around the two holy shrines and the mountain, he said.
Seven waterfalls flow from the Gandhamardan, which become the Suktel river on one side and Ong river on the other, with the two rivers eventually merging with the Mahanadi. The hilltop is 7.5 km in length and 2.5 km in breadth, forming a tabletop that is witness to several local festivals, he said. The site is frequented by tourists from Orissa and Chhattisgarh, he said.
“I would request you to kindly take the initiative to declare the region a heritage site and take steps to make funds available for its conservation so that the richness and sanctity of the region can be preserved and it features prominently on the tourist map of India,” the BJP leader wrote.
