Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Oct 30: The state tourism ministry plans to effect a Rs 70 crore infrastructure boost of Dhauli and other tourist sites in the state.
The plan involves setting up of several new establishments, including complementary structures that will be juxtaposed with historical monuments. It also entails undertaking renovation work to rule out the possibility of damage to historical sites.
“The state tourism ministry has approved the budget of Rs 70 crore meant to boost infrastructure of tourist sites from the state,” state tourism minister Ashok Chandra Panda told Orissa POST.
The proposal seeks to establish a welcome arch near Dhauli stupa, a vending zone near the parking lot at Dhauli, as well as illumination of the Dhauli-NH street, according to the draft budget of the department. Renovation work will also be taken up at the Dhabaleswar temple, while infrastructure at the information centre at the historic Khandagiri caves will be boosted. Under the plan, green vehicles will ply from the parking lot to the Dhauli stupa.
This comes even as many projects that have been announced are yet to see the light of day. These include the establishment of a ropeway at Dhauli, a fountain at a pond near the parking lot. The ambitious ropeway project has been given to IDCO for execution but there are no signs of early execution.
Other projects relating to green vehicles for ferrying tourists have been given to private players but these also are in a limbo. Experts believe the newly sanctioned corpus will provide impetus to the pending projects.
