post news network
Bhubaneswar, August 26: Following an ambitious plan to set up the third planetarium at Gopalpur in Ganjam, the state government has decided to set up two more planetariums in Koraput and Mayurbhanj districts.
Sources said Koraput will have its planetarium at Jeypore town, while in Mayurbhanj it will be set up at Baripada.
According to sources, the science and technology department has asked the collectors of Koraput and Mayurbhanj to identify land for the proposed planetariums, and submit details along with trace maps to the department.
A few months ago, the state government had asked the Ganjam collector to identify 20 acre land at Gopalpur to set up a planetarium. This will be the third planetarium in the state after the Pathani Samanta Planetarium in the Capital city, and the one at Burla in Sambalpur whose construction is underway.
Construction work for the second planetarium at Burla began in January 2014 by IDCO and it was supposed to be made functional by March 2015. However, delay in installation of requisite equipment has stalled the project. Officials, however, said the planetarium would be made operational shortly.
Meanwhile, sources said the construction of the three proposed planetariums is likely to be carried out by Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO).
Officials of the department said construction of these planetariums will help promote astronomy, astrophysics and space science among students and teachers.
