Jajpur: A water tank being constructed on the lines of Kusuma tank in Jajpur Town to attract tourists visiting Buddhist shrines and Olasuni cave has hit land hurdles, a report said.
The second largest tank is being built by the state government at Kantigadia – about 2 km from Chandikhole Square in Jajpur district.
However, stiff opposition by locals to land acquisition for construction of a modern road to the proposed water body has posed hurdles to implementation of the project.
The Kusuma tank near Maa Biraja temple in Jajpur Town is one of the major tourist destinations in the district. It has facilities for boating in the water body and other amusement activities.
- The second tank is being built at Kantigadia – about 2 km from Chandikhole Square in Jajpur district
- However, stiff opposition by locals to land acquisition for construction of a modern road to the proposed water body has posed hurdles to implementation of the project
Kusuma tank was lying abandoned and unused but the state government, during last six years, has renovated the water body to make it a tourists’ favourite.
After tasting success in the facelift of Kusuma tank, the government has planned to build the second tank at Kantigadia. The tank will be built over 25 acre of land involving an expenditure of Rs 10 crore. The pond will be constructed under the supervision of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC).
The tank when constructed will provide amusement facilities to tourists and devotees visiting the famous Buddhist sites like Ratnagiri, Udayagiri, Lalitgiri and the Olasnui cave.
The Rural Development (RD) department has undertaken the construction of 600 long and 5.5 metre wide road, a bridge and an 800-metre long drain to the site at a plan outlay of Rs 2 crore. The road construction has been withheld due to opposition to land acquisition by the villagers.
When contacted, RD department SDO Soumya Ranjan Dwivedi said the Dharmasala tehsildar has been asked to identify and demarcate the land for road construction. The road construction will start after the land is identified and handed over to the department.
Meanwhile, the state government has sanctioned Rs 6.69 crore for construction of a musical fountain at Kusuma tank and issued a work order February 7, 2018. However, work on the fountain is yet to be completed with only Rs 2 crore spent on the project.
