Puri: Visitors to the world famous Sun Temple here will have modern facilities as the 13th century heritage structure will be developed under the National Policy for Conservation of the Ancient Monuments, Archaeological Sites and Remains (NPC-AMASR).
The Sun Temple is among the 27 monuments picked by the Central government for development under the programme and prepared a blueprint.
Sources said a central official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will supervise the development work at each site. ASI director (conservation) RS Jamuel has been appointed as the nodal officer for the Konark temple.
The officials of the ASI circle office in the state capital have prepared the project report for the temple development which will be carried out in a phased manner, said a senior official of ASI.
Sources said gardens will be developed as part of the beautification of ideal monuments. The gardens will showcase local arts and culture. Special attention will be given to cleanliness of the lawn, garden and the footpath.
If the heritage premises have gardens already, efforts will be made to develop them. A food court will be set up at each monument site. In addition, signboards will be put up at different places to inform the visitors about the sites. The old signboards which were put up randomly would be removed. The new signboards will be designed in such a way as to resemble the monuments. The information on them will be displayed in three languages — English, Hindi and the regional language.
Sources said particular emphasis will be given to develop special facilities for the differently-abled people. Ramps will be installed for their easy movement. The heritage sites will have toilets and safe drinking water facilities. If the sites already have these facilities, efforts will be made to develop them.
The toilets will have facilities for entry of wheel chairs and emphasis will be given to proper ventilation. Besides, 24-hour water supply, liquid soaps for hand wash will be made available in the toilets which will be painted in such a manner as to reflect the glimpses of the heritage structure.
An interpretation centre will also be set up at each site where all information and books regarding the monuments will be made available. The monuments will also have cloakrooms and the ticket counters will be upgraded and made user-friendly for all visitors. Wi-Fi facility will be installed at the sites and visitors can access it free of charge for 30 minutes.
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