Dhenkanal: The dream of thousands of visitors to Lord Shiva’s shrine at Kapilas in Dhenkanal district for a ropeway facility will come true.
Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disability Minister Ashok Chandra Panda, who attended the district level Republic Day celebration, announced that four tourist spots including Kaplias will have ropeway facilities soon.
Informing about the much-awaited project, Panda said the state tourism department had presented a proposal for ropeway facilities at Kapilas, Barunei and Dhauli in Khurda and Bhimakund in Keonjhar district to the government in 2018-19.
Dhenkanal MLA Sudhir Samal had also proposed a ropeway facility at Kapilas in the Assembly. The state government has given its green signal for the facilities at all four places.
The minister further said that Kapilas Science Centre and seven other places have been identified to get a planetarium each. This apart, ten districts are going to have science centres too.
Dhenkanal MLA Samal said proposals for a ropeway facility at Kapilas and a planetarium at Kapilas Science Centre were placed in last Assembly session. “The proposal for the ropeway facility at Kapilas has been accepted. The endowment department has been asked to identify spots suitable for this facility,” Samal pointed out.
Similarly, Dhenkanal sub collector and endowment officer Safalya Mandit Pradhan admitted that he had been asked by the MLA to identify five acres of land for the purpose of setting up of the facility. “Once earmarked, we will submit a report to the MLA,” he added.
Notably, past collectors placed proposals for a ropeway facility at Kapilas in 1992 and 2004. At that time the project hit a snag due to a land dispute between the forest department and the endowment department.
