post news network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 26: On World Tourism Day, the state tourism department has lined up various cultural programmes to highlight the culture and tradition of the state. However, despite best efforts, the tourist footfall is showing a marked decline. Annual reports released in February indicate a sharp fall in footfall in the last five years. Lack of proper maintenance of tourist sites and the absence of a tourist- friendly environment are the main reasons behind Orissa’s poor show. Orissa is home to monuments showcasing marvellous architecture and numerous historical sites that need to be properly conserved and developed into tourist hotspots.
Sisupalgarh fort, the ancient structure on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, is lying in ruins with no one to look after it. Various constructions have been made around this ancient site in the past few years. The construction violates the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 2010, which prohibits any development activity within 300 metres of such monuments.
Sisupalgarh was the capital of Kalinga, the ancient name of Orissa, when the Chedi dynasty ruled the land. Kharavela was the most influential and powerful ruler of this dynasty. These ruins represent a well-planned fortified city, which was first excavated by archaeologist B B Lal in 1948-49. M L Smith and Ravi Mohanty of the Deccan College, Pune performed another excavation at the site in 2005-06 that threw up new findings.
Himsagar Naik, the superintending archeologist at the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) office in Bhubaneswar, said: “We don’t have enough funds for the maintenance of the site. We can only do something if the government and the central ASI provide us financial help.”
Ravi Mohanty, who is one of the excavators of the site, said it was the pride of the state and the country as it had witnessed the change of Kalinga’s fate. “If any construction takes place near or at the place, then the government has full authority to demolish it. Now is the time to do it,” he said.
A source said that the state government had received a proposal to build a park and garden inside the fort that would have encouraged tourism in the region, but no action was taken.
Recently a group of students from an engineering college from Surat had visited Sishupalgrah. They said that they could not locate the pillars and the south gate of the fort due to lack of proper signboards. “We found only the frame of a signboard that was placed by the ASI,” one of the students said.
Asked about the signboard, Naik said that he was not aware of any damage caused to the board.
Tourist operators in the city also feel that Sishupalgarh needs to be developed as a tourist destination “Lots of research scholars, historians and students prefer to visit the site since it is of historical importance. However, nothing has been done to develop it,” said Benjamin Simon, a tourist operator.
The state will celebrate World Tourism Day September 27 with pomp and show. However, the tourism scenario is growing grimmer by the day.