Kendrapara: A proposal to accord a tourism destination tag to Ramchandi temple at Ramnagar under Mahakalpara block in Kendrapara district has been pending for years with the government for approval. Devotees and locals alleged that the proposal has been pushed into cold store due to the apathy of the state government.
Reports said, the district tourism department has submitted a detailed report about the shrine to the state Tourism department in 2017. “However, the proposal to include the place in the list of tourist spots has not yet been considered by the government. Managing temple affairs has become difficult for those looking after it,” locals said. Subash Swain, a member of Ramchandi Sena, a local outfit working for development of the shrine, said that one of the kings of the erstwhile Kujang kingdom had donated several acres of land at Ramnagar, Petachella, Bhopal and Bardang mouzas to meet the expenses of the daily rituals and temple management, but most of the land has been grabbed by people. The term of the temple trust came to an end in 2017 but it has not been renewed.
Several other problems of the temple are yet to be sorted out. Former Collector Samarth Verma was apprised of multiple problems of the temple. The Collector had ordered the administration to list out the problems, but no step was taken to resolve them. Thousands of tourists while visiting Hukitola island and the Light House also set their foot on the shrine.
In view of the tourist inflow, a pantha nivas was set up at the shrine in 1997-98. Thousands of devotees throng the place during Jhamu Yatra every year. “If the place is accorded tourism spot status, various development works will be undertaken and tourist footfall will increase. This will create employment opportunities for the locals,” observed Harekrushna Patra of Mahakalpara. Safety of the temple is another issue.
In the past, ornaments of the deities had been stolen twice. There is need for police patrolling in the area, locals said. Sub-collector Niranjan Behera said that the issues of the temple will be looked into during a field visit.