Khandapada: The famous Nilamadhav temple, a very old and famous Vishnu temple situated atop twin hills on the banks of the Mahanadi at Kantilo in Nayagarh district is visited by hundreds of devotees every day.
The deity is revered by devotees who throng it round the year to witness the permanent flow of holy water from the feet of Lord Nilamadhav. Lord Siddheswar present in the shrine is another highlight of the place.
The deity occupies a central position in the Jagannath cult. Many of the tourists being senior citizens and disabled find it hard to climb the hill for which it was decided to construct a ropeway. However, the proposal is buried under red-tape.
Former MLA Anubhav Patnaik had stressed construction of a ropeway to the shrine in 2014. Later, concerned officials conducted a survey to implement the project in 2016. Since then, years have passed but the project is yet to be implemented. This has sparked resentment among visiting tourists and devotees.
Sources said the Nilamadhav temple is known as the original shrine of Jagannath culture and is situated atop Brahmadri and Padmadri hills. The temple is surrounded by four gates namely lions’ gate on east, tigers’ gate in west, elephants’ gate in north and horses’ gate in south. The road to each gate has a flight of 54 steps.
The need for construction of a ropeway arose when former MLA Anubhav Patnaik accompanied by Janaki Ballav Mohapatra, chief engineer, state water resources department visited the temple for darshan of the deity, November 13, 2014.
Patnaik realized the difficulty in climbing 54 steps to the temple and stressed installation of a ropeway as has been done in various shrines in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Later, on the advice of the chief engineer, Lingaraj Associate, a private firm, conducted a survey for the project, March 1, 2016. The firm was advised to install a ropeway of 175 mtrs in length from the foothill on the west to the hilltop.
A preliminary estimate pegged the expenditure at Rs 3 to Rs 4 crore for installation of the ropeway. The survey report was submitted to the District Collector. Later a detailed project report and drawing design were submitted to the state government.
However, it never become a reality Khandapara MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said a special project will be implemented for development of the Nilamadhav.
PNN