Sonepur: In a bid to attract more number of tourists to Patali Srikhetra shrine, which is associated with Lord Jagannath of Puri, in Kotsamalai of Subarnapur district, a ropeway service will be started soon.
The ropeway will be built by the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) at Patali Srikhetra located on Trikuta hills, informed WODC Chairman Kishore Mohanty at a press meeting here Sunday.
According to ancient history, the Trikuta hill was the abode of the Trinity of Jagannath temple in Puri during Muslim invasion in Odisha. The Trinity was hidden in the cave of the hill for 144 years.
However, the place where the idols were hidden at the hill is situated at a height of 500 metres from the foothill. It’s a tough journey for tourists to reach the shrine for ‘darshan’ of the Lords.
With the construction of the ropeway, it will connect the foothill of Trikuta hills with the cave where the idols of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.
The Odisha Construction Corporation (OCC) will invite a tender for the ropeway project with an estimated cost of Rs 10.27 crore.
A Detailed Project Report (DPR) has already been prepared. There will be four trolleys to ferry the tourists between the two places. If everything goes smoothly as per the plan, the foundation stone for the project will be laid December 28, said Mohanty.
People from across Western Odisha visit the place. However, tourists, particularly aged people, face difficulties in climbing the hill to reach the cave. The visitors will have no problem after the ropeway project is completed.
This apart, the ropeway will boost tourism and attract more number of tourists.
The proposed project at Patali Srikhetra will be the second ropeway in Western Odisha. At present, the trial run for ropeway, connecting Jawahar Udyan with Gandhi Minar near Hirakud Dam Project (HDP) site in Sambalpur is underway and will be opened for public soon.
PNN