Dhenkanal: Hundreds of residents here have demanded tourist destination status to ‘Hati-Girida’ in Anantapur reserve forest area of Dhenkanal district.
Sources said Hati-Girida (a typical jumbo captive centre) was constructed nearly 160 years ago in the reserve forests of Anantapur to make docile the wild elephants. The construction dates back to reign of erstwhile Dhenkanal ruler Bhagirath Mahendra Bahadur. The pachyderms were being trained and domesticated there.
The captive centre is located 4km away from Gundichanali village. A visitor can reach the village after covering about 5km from Kamakhyanagar block headquarters. After walking the distance on a forest road from Gundichanali village, a visitor has to pass over a temporary bamboo bridge across Ramial river to reach Hati-Girida.
Hati-Girida was built at a location where three hills unite. Billed as the lone captive centre of undivided Dhenkanal district during the Gadajat period, Hati-Girida is rich in natural resources.
According to social activist Rajeeb Lochan Singhdeo, “If developed with suitable infrastructure, the historic place will attract tourists round the year.”
A local outfit named Zilla Sakriya Nagarika Parishad had earlier submitted a memorandum to the district administration and Forest and Environment department seeking transformation of the ancient and vast captive centre into a tourist destination.
Many locals including Pradyumna Rath, Krushna Chandra Dwivedy and Ramachandra Sahu urged the Dhenkanal administration and the Forest department to take immediate steps in this regard.