PNS
: Professor, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, Digambara Patra, who is a native of Kalahandi, has urged CM Naveen Patnaik to make a 5T master plan with a budget of Rs100 crore for a ropeway from Hello Point and a garden via a power plant adjoining Indravati dam in the KBK region.
In a letter to the CM, Prof Patra said the State Government has been spending hundreds of crore rupees to renovate and develop infrastructure in various temples across Odisha, but in Kalahandi, the amount spent is very small like for Manikeswari temple in Thuamul Rampur.
“Manikeswari Temple in Bhawanipatna is a famous and a major place in Kalahandi, where devotees visit from across Odisha and Chhattisgarh. However, the temple and surrounding areas are under private control. So the State Government cannot do much for its infrastructure development. Nevertheless, a new place can be developed. For instance, a master plan like the 5T initiative for temples can be made around the Indravati reservoir and power plant,” he said.
He further said, “It can be built similar to the Brindavan garden adjoining Krishnarajasagara Dam in Mysore, Karnataka. A ropeway from Hello Point, Thuamul Rampur overseeing rice fields and forest to the power plant and then the canal at Mukhiguda along with the temple, garden and museum will attract many tourists. Such a master plan has the potential to make this place one of the major tourist destinations in the KBK region.”