BHUBANESWAR: A special heritage walk was organised under the aegis of Ekamra Walks, the first guided heritage trail in the city, here Wednesday.
Members of the Forum of Regulators, the apex body of energy regulators across the country, participated in the event, which was being conducted at Old Town area. The group was led by Chairman of Odisha Energy Regulatory Commission (OERC) Upendra Nath Behera. The delegates were part of the 65th meeting of the Forum of Regulators organised by OERC in the city Tuesday.
“We have hundreds of beautiful temples spread across the Old Town area. These temples were built in the period between 6th and 16th century AD. We organised this special event to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Old Town area. This area was once known as Ekamra Kshetra. It represented the unique architecture of the state,’’ said the OERC Chairman Upendra Nath Behera.
“The heritage trail was initiated in the Old Town area in 2016. I joined the initiative December 25 that year as I was highly interested in listening to the stories attached to the monuments of Ekamra Kshetra. We planned this national meeting in the city as I believe that this would be a great opportunity for the visiting delegates to explore heritage sites of the state,’’ he added.
Members of the Forum of Regulators visited Mukteswar, Siddheswar, Parasurameswar, Kotitirtheswar, Anantavasudev and Lingaraj temples along with the holy lake of Bindusagar during the special event. A total of 30 individuals from the Forum participated in the event. Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) Member Enforcement Bhabani Shankar Chayani was also present during the special heritage walk in Old Town.
Earlier, the visiting delegates had taken part in a similar special heritage walk at the twin hills of Khandagiri and Udaygiri, which is also a famous Jain religious site. The chief purpose of the trail, which was called Monks, Caves and Kings, was to know about the powerful medieval emperors of Kalinga who once ruled almost 40 percent territory of the Indian sub-continent.
It may be mentioned here that the Forum of Regulators (FOR) was constituted on February, 16, 2005, in pursuance of the provision under Section 166(2) of the Electricity Act, 2003. The Forum consists of chairperson of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and Chairperson of State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs).
Art expo to delight denizens soon
BHUBANESWAR: Renowned artists from India and abroad have worked tirelessly for the last month in the Old Town area of the city to create artworks by interacting with local communities, visiting archives, monuments, residential areas and conducting their research.
These works would be exhibited in a public art expo titled Navigation is Offline November 18. The event would be curated by Jagannath Panda and Premjish Achari. The project is located in a trail of 1.3 km in the aforementioned area. The street houses significant medieval monuments, contemporary architecture, schools, shops and public institutions among others.
Speaking about the event at a press meet Tuesday, Jagannath Panda said that the event would usher in a change in the art landscape of the city. He encouraged huge participation from the residents of the city. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will grace the ceremony as the Chief Guest and will inaugurate the first edition of Bhubaneswar Art Trail.